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Cumm  )l  of  Veterinary  fvledicine  at 

Tufts  U         ty 

200 

North  G  IA  01536 


IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL 


CHATS  WITH   ESMERALDA 


BY 

THEO.    STEPHENSON   BROWNE 


—  We  two  will  ride, 

Lady  mine, 
At  your  pleasure,  side  by  side, 
Laugh  and  chat. 

Aldrich. 


BOSTON 

D   LOTHROP  COMPANY 

WASHINGTON   STREET   OPPOSITE    BROMFIELD 


0 


Copyright,  1890, 

BY 

D.  Lothrop  Company. 


TO  THE 

MODERN  MEN  OF  UZ  ; 

MY 
FRENCH,   ENGLISH  AND  AMERICAN   MASTERS. 


CONTENTS. 


I.     A  Preliminary  Chat  with  Esmeralda    .     .      7 
The  proper  frame  of  mind  —  Dress  — 
Preparatory  exercises. 

II.     Shall  you  Take  your  Mother,  Esmeralda  ?     19 
The    first   lesson — Various    ways    of 
mounting —  Slippery  reins  —  Clucking  — 
After  a  ride. 

III.  Chat  during  the  Second  Lesson       ...     34 

Equestrian  language  —  Trotting  with- 
out a  horse  —  Exercises  in  and  out  of 
the  saddle. 

IV.  Esmeralda's  Trials  at  the  Third  Lesson    50 

Pounding  the  saddle  —  A  critical  spec- 
tator —  A  few  rein-holds. 

V.    Esmeralda  on  the  Road 64 

Good  and  bad  and  indifferent  riders  — 
A  very  little  runaway. 

VI.    The  Ordeal  of  a  Private  Lesson      ...    83 
Voltes  and  half  voltes  —  "  On  the  right 
hand  of  the  school "  —  Imagination  as  a 
teacher. 

VII.     Esmeralda  at  a  Music  Ride       97 

Sitting  like  a  poker  —  The  ways  of  the 
bad  rider. 


Ti  CONTENTS. 


VIII.    Esmeralda  in  Class Ill 

Keeping  distances  —  Corners  —  Proper 
place  in  the  saddle  —  Exercises  to  correct 
nervous  stiffness. 

IX.  Elementary  Military  Evolutions     .     .     .126 

"  Forward,  forward,  and  again  for- 
ward !  "  —  How  to  guide  a  horse  easily. 

X.  Chat  during  an  Exercise  Ride      .     .     .     .141 

The  deeds  of  the  three-legged  trotter 
—  The  omniscient  rider  —  Backing  a  step 
or  two  —  Fun  in  the  dressing-room. 

XI.    Esmeralda  is  Managed       158 

Intervals  —  The  secret  of  learning  to 
ride. 

XII.     Chat  about  the  Habit 174 

Riding-dress  in  history  and  fiction  — 
Cloth,  linings  and  sewing  —  Boots, 
gloves  and  hats. 

XIII.     Chat  about  Teachers 196 

Foreign  and  native  instructors  —  Why 
American  women  learn  slowly —  "  Keep 
riding ! " 


IN   THE   RIDING-SCHOOL. 


I. 

Impatient  to  mount  and  ride. 


Longfellow. 

ND  you  want  to  learn  how  to  ride, 
^fyt\  Esmeralda  ? 
Rw™^n  Why  ?  Because  ?  Reason  good 
and  sufficient,  Esmeralda  ;  to  require 
anything  more  definite  would  be  brutal,  although 
an  explanation  of  your  motives  would  render 
the  task  of  directing  you  much  easier. 

As  you  are  an  American,  it  is  reasonable  to 
presume  that  you  desire  to  learn  quickly;  as 
you  are  youthful,  it  is  certain  that  you  earnestly 
wish  to  look  pretty  in  the  saddle,  and  as  you  are 
a  youthful  American,  there  is  not  a  shadow  of 
a  doubt  that  your  objections  to  authoritative 
teaching  will  be  almost  unconquerable,  and  that 
you  will  insist  upon  being  treated,  from  the  very 
beginning,  as  if  your  small  head  contained  the 

7 


8  IN  THE  BIDWG-SCHOOL. 

knowledge  of  a  Hiram  Woodruff  or  of  an 
Archer.  Perhaps  you  may  find  a  teacher  who 
will  comply  with  your  wishes  ;  who  will  be  ex- 
ceedingly deferential  to  your  little  whims  ;  will 
unhesitatingly  accept  your  report  of  your  own 
sensations  and  your  hypotheses  as  to  their 
cause ;  and,  Esmeralda,  when  once  your  eyes 
behold  that  model  man,  be  content,  and  go  and 
take  lessons  of  another,  for  either  he  is  a  pre- 
tentious humbug,  careless  of  everything  except 
his  fees,  or  he  is  an  ignoramus. 

It  may  not  be  necessary  that  you  should  be 
insulted  or  ridiculed  in  order  to  become  a  rider, 
although  there  are  girls  who  seem  utterly  im- 
pervious to  teaching  by  gentle  methods.  Is  it 
not  a  matter  of  tradition  that  Queen  Victoria 
owes  her  regal  carriage  to  the  rough  drill-ser- 
geant, who,  after  making  endless  respectful 
suggestions,  with  no  effect  upon  his  pupil,  hor- 
rified her  governess,  and  astonished  her,  by 
sharply  saying  :  "  A  pretty  Queen  you'll  make 
with  that  dot-and-go-one  gait !  "  Up  went  the 
little  chin,  back  went  the  shoulders,  down  went 
the  elbows,  and,  in  her  wrath,  the  little  princess 
did  precisely  what   the   old    soldier   had   been 


IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL.  9 

striving  to  make  her  do  ;  but  his  delighted  cry 
of  "Just  right!'  was  a  surprise  to  her,  inas- 
much as  she  had  been  conscious  of  no  muscular 
effort  whatever.  From  that  time  forth,  incessit 
regina. 

You  may  not  need  such  rough  treatment,  but 
it  is  necessary  that  you  should  be  corrected 
every  moment  and  almost  every  second  until 
you  learn  to  correct  yourself,  until  every  muscle 
in  your  body  becomes  self-conscious,  and  until 
an  improper  position  is  almost  instantly  felt  as 
uncomfortable,  and  the  teacher  who  does  not 
drill  you  steadily  and  continuously,  permits  you 
to  fall  into  bad  habits. 

If  you  were  a  German  princess,  Esmeralda, 
you  would  be  compelled  to  sit  in  the  saddle  for 
many  an  hour  without  touching  the  reins,  while 
your  patient  horse  walked  around  a  tan  bark 
ring,  and  you  balanced  yourself  and  straightened 
yourself,  and  adjusted  arms,  shoulders,  waist, 
knees  and  feet,  under  the  orders  of  a  drill-ser- 
geant, who  might,  indeed,  sugar-coat  his  phrases 
with  "Your  Highness,"  but  whose  intonations 
would  say  "  You  must,"  as  plainly  as  if  he  were 
drilling  an  awkward  squad  of  peasant  recruits. 


10  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 


If  you  were  the  daughter  of  a  hundred  earls, 
you  would  be  mounted  on  a  Shetland  pony  and 
shaken  into  a  good  seat  long  before  you  outgrew 
short  frocks,  and  afterwards  you  would  be 
trained  by  your  mother  or  older  sisters,  by  the 
gentlemen  of  your  family,  or,  perhaps,  by  some 
trusted  old  groom,  or  in  a  good  London  riding- 
school,  and,  no  matter  who  your  instructor  might 
be,  you  would  be  compelled  to  be  submissive 
and  obedient. 

But   you   object  that  you    cannot   afford  to 
pay  for  very  careful,  minute,  and  long-contin- 
ued training;  that  you  must  content  yourself 
with  such  teaching  as  you  can  obtain  by  riding 
in  a  ring  under  the  charge  of  two  or  three  mas- 
ters, receiving  such  instruction  as  they  find  time 
to  give  you  while  maintaining  order  and  looking 
after   an   indefinite   number    of    other   pupils. 
Your  real  teacher  in  that  case  must  be  yourself, 
striving  assiduously  to  obey  every  order  given 
to  you,  no  matter  whether  it  appears  unreason- 
able or  seems,  as  the  Concord  young  woman 
said,  "  in  accordance  with  the  latest  scientific 
developments  and  the  esoteric  meaning  of  dif- 
ferentiated animal  existences."    That  sentence, 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  11 

by  the  way,  silenced  her  master,  and  nearly 
caused  him  to  have  a  fit  of  illness  from  suppres- 
sion of  language,  but  perhaps  it  might  affect 
your  teacher  otherwise,  and  you  would  better 
reserve  it  for  that  private  mental  rehearsal  of 
your  first  lesson  which  you  will  conduct  in  your 
maiden  meditation. 

You  are  to  be  your  own  best  teacher,  you 
understand,  and  you  may  be  encouraged  to 
know  that  one  of  the  foremost  horsemen  in  the 
country  says  :  "  I  have  had  many  teachers,  but 
my  best  master  was  here,"  touching  his  fore- 
head. "  Where  do  you  ride,  sir?  "  asked  one  of 
his  pupils,  after  vainly  striving  with  reins  and 
whip,  knee,  heel  and  spur  to  execute  a  move- 
ment which  the  master  had  compelled  his 
horse  to  perform  while  apparently  holding  him- 
self as  rigid  as  bronze.  "  I  ride  here,  sir,"  was 
the  grim  answer,  with  another  tap  on  the 
forehead. 

And  first,  Esmeralda,  being  feminine,  you 
wish  to  know  what  you  are  to  wear. 

Until  you  have  taken  at  least  ten  lessons,  it 
would  be  simply  foolishness  for  you  to  buy  any 
special  thing  to  wear,  except  a  plain  flannel  skirt, 


12  IN  THE  BIDINQ-SCHOOL. 

the  material  for  which  should  not  cost  you  more 
than  two  dollars  and  a  half.  Harper's  Bazar 
has  published  two  or  three  patterns,  following 
which  any  dressmaker  can  make  a  skirt  quite 
good  enough  for  the  ring.  A  jersey,  a  Norfolk 
jacket,  a  simple  street  jacket  or  even  an  ordi- 
nary basque  waist ;  any  small,  close-fitting  hat, 
securely  pinned  to  your  hair,  and  very  loose 
gloves  will  complete  a  dress  quite  suitable  for 
private  lessons,  and  not  so  expensive  that  you 
need  grudge  the  swift  destruction  certain  to 
come  to  all  equestrian  costumes.  Nothing  is 
more  ludicrous  than  to  see  a  rider  clothed  in  a 
correct  habit,  properly  scant  and  unhemmed,  to 
avoid  all  risks  while  taking  fences  and  hedges 
in  a  hunting  country,  with  her  chimney-pot  hat 
and  her  own  gold-mounted  crop,  her  knowing 
little  riding-boots  and  buckskins,  with  outfit 
enough  for  Baby  Blake  and  Di  Vernon  and  Lady 
Gay  Spanker,  and  to  see  that  young  woman 
dancing  in  her  saddle,  now  here  and  now  there, 
clinging  to  the  pommel,  pulling  at  the  reins  in 
a  manner  to  make  a  rocking-horse  rear,  and 
squealing  tearfully  and  jerkily  :  "  Oh,  ho-ho-oh, 
wh-h-hat  m-m-makes  h-h-him   g-g-go  s-s-s-so  ?  " 


m  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL.  13 

If  you  think  it  possible  that  you  may  be  easily 
discouraged,  and  that  your  first  appearance  in 
the  riding-school  will  be  your  last,  you  need  not 
buy  any  skirt,  for  you  will  find  several  in  the 
school  dressing-room,  and,  for  once,  you  may 
submit  to  wearing  a  garment  not  your  own. 
Shall  you  buy  trousers  or  tights  ?  Wait  till  you 
decide  to  take  lessons  before  buying  either,  first 
to  avoid  unnecessary  expense,  and  second,  be- 
cause until  experience  shall  show  you  what  kind 
of  a  horsewoman  you  are  likely  to  be,  you  can- 
not tell  which  will  be  the  more  suitable  and 
comfortable.  Laced  boots,  a  plain,  dark  under- 
skirt, cut  princess,  undergarments  without  a 
wrinkle,  and  no  tight  bands  to  compress  veins, 
or  to  restrain  muscles  by  adding  their  resistance 
to  the  force  of  gravitation  make  up  the  list  of 
details  to  which  you  must  give  your  attention 
before  leaving  home.  If  you  be  addicted  to 
light  gymnastics,  you  will  find  it  beneficial  to 
practise  a  few  movements  daily,  both  before 
taking  your  first  lesson  and  as  long  as  you  may 
continue  to  ride. 

First  —  Hold  your  shoulders  square  and  per- 
fectly rigid,  and  turn  the  head  toward  the  right 
four  times,  and  then  to  the  left  four  times. 


14  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 

Second  —  Bend  the  head  four  times  to  the 
right  and  four  times  to  the  left. 

Third  —  Bend  the  head  four  times  to  the  back 
and  four  times  to  the  front.  These  exercises 
will  enable  you  to  look  at  anything  which  may 
interest  you,  without  distracting  the  attention 
of  your  horse,  as  you  might  do  if  you  moved 
your  shoulders,  and  thus  disturbed  your  equilib- 
rium on  his  back.  Feeling  the  change,  he  nat- 
urally supposes  that  you  want  something  of 
him,  and  when  you  become  as  sensitive  as  you 
should  be,  you  will  notice  that  at  such  times  he 
changes  his  gait  perceptibly. 

Fourth  —  Bend  from  the  waist  four  times  to 
the  right,  four  to  the  left,  four  times  forward 
and  four  times  backward.  These  movements 
will  not  only  make  the  waist  flexible,  but  will 
strengthen  certain  muscles  of  the  leg. 

Fifth  —  Execute  any  movement  which  expe- 
rience has  shown  you  will  square  your  shoulders 
and  flatten  your  back  most  effectually.  Throw 
the  hands  backward  until  they  touch  one  an- 
other, or  bring  your  elbows  together  behind 
you,  if  you  can.  Hold  the  arms  close  to  the 
side,  the  elbows  against  the  waist,  the  forearm 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  15 

at  right  angles  with  the  arm,  the  fists  clenched, 
with  the  little  finger  down  and  the  knuckles  fac- 
ing each  other,  and  describe  ellipses,  first  with 
one  shoulder,  then  with  the  other,  then  with 
both.  This  movement  is  found  in  Mason's 
School  Gymnastics,  and  is  prescribed  by  M.  de 
Bussigny  in  his  little  manual  for  horsewom- 
en, and  it  will  prove  admirable  in  its  effects. 
Stretch  the  arms  at  full  length  above  the  head, 
the  palms  of  the  hands  in  front,  the  thumbs 
touching  one  another,  and  then  carry  them 
straight  outward  without  bending  the  elbows, 
and  bend  them  down,  the  palms  still  in  front, 
until  the  little  finger  touches  the  leg.  This 
movement  is  recommended  by  Mason  and  also 
by  Blaikie,  and  as  it  is  part  of  the  West  Point 
"  setting  up  "  drill,  it  may  be  regarded  as  con- 
sidered on  good  authority  to  be  efficacious  in 
producing  an  erect  carriage.  Stand  as  upright 
as  you  can,  your  arms  against  your  side,  the 
forearm  at  right  angles,  as  before,  and  jerk  your 
elbows  downward  four  times. 

Sixth  —  Sit  down  on  the  floor  with  your  feet 
stretched  straight  before  you,  and  resting  on 
their  heels,  and  drop  backward  until   you  are 


16  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 


lying  flat,  then  resume  your  first  position,  keep- 
ing your  arms  and  forearms  at  right  angles  dur- 
ing the  whole  exercise.  Still  sitting,  bend  as 
far  to  the  right  as  you  can,  and  then  bend  as 
far  as  possible  to  the  left,  resuming  a  perfectly 
erect  position  between  the  movements,  and 
keeping  your  feet  and  legs  still.  Rising,  stand 
on  your  toes  and  let  yourself  down  fifty  times  ; 
then  stand  on  your  heels,  and  raise  and  lower 
the  toes  fifty  times.  The  firmer  you  hold  your 
arms  and  hands  during  these  movements,  the 
better  for  you,  Esmeralda,  and  for  the  horse 
who  will  be  your  first  victim. 

Already  one  can  seem  to  see  him,  poor, 
innocent  beast,  miserable  in  the  memories  of 
an  army  of  beginners,  his  mouth  so  accus- 
tomed to  being  jerked  in  every  direction, 
without  anything  in  particular  being  meant  by 
it,  that  neither  Arabia  nor  Mexico  can  furnish 
a  bit  which  would  surprise  him,  or  startle 
his  four  legs  from  their  propriety.  No  cow 
is  more  placid,  no  lamb  more  gentle ;  he 
would  not  harm  a  tsetse  fly  or  kick  a  snapping 
terrier.  His  sole  object  in  life  is  to  keep  him- 
self and  his  rider  out  of  danger,  and  to  betake 


IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  17 

himself  to  that  part  of  the  ring  in  which  the 
least  labor  should  be  expected  of  him.  The 
tiny  girls  and  bright  little  boys  who  ride  him 
call  him  "dear  old  Billy  Buttons,"  or  "darling 
Gypsy,"  or  "nice  Sir  Archer."  Heaven  knows 
what  he  calls  them  in  his  heart  !  Were  he 
human,  it  would  be  something  to  be  expressed 
by  dashes  and  "d's  "  ;  but,  being  a  horse,  he  is 
silent,  and  shows  his  feelings  principally  by 
heading  for  the  mounting-stand  whenever  he 
thinks  that  a  pupil's  hour  is  at  an  end. 

Why  that  long  face,  Esmeralda  ?  Must  you 
do  all  those  exercises  ?  Bless  your  innocent 
soul,  no  !  Dress  yourself  and  run  away.  The 
exercises  will  be  good  for  you,  but  they  are  not 
absolutely  necessary.  Remember,  however, 
that  your  best  riding  master  is  behind  your 
own  pretty  forehead,  and  that  your  brain  can 
save  your  muscles  many  a  strain  and  many  a 
pound  of  labor.  And  remember,  too,  that,  in 
riding,  as  in  everything  else,  to  him  that  hath 
shall  be  given,  and  the  harder  and  firmer  your 
muscles  when  you  begin,  the  greater  will  be 
the  benefit  which  you  will  derive  from  your 
rides,  and  the  more  you  will  enjoy  them.     The 


18  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 

pale  and  weary  invalid  may  gain  flesh  and  color 
with  every  lesson,  but  the  bright  and  healthy 
pupil,  whose  muscles  are  like  iron,  whose  heart 
and  lungs  are  in  perfect  order,  can  ride  for 
hours  without  weariness,  and  double  her  strength 
in  a  comparatively  short  time. 

But  —  Esmeralda,  dear,  before  you  go  —  whis- 
per !  Why  do  you  want  to  take  riding  lessons  ? 
Theodore  asked  you  to  go  out  with  him  next 
Monday,  and  Nell  said  that  she  would  lend  you 
her  habit,  and  you  thought  that  you  would  take 
three  lessons  and  learn  to  ride  ?  You  did,  eh  ? 
Three  lessons !  There,  go  and  dress,  child ; 
go  and  dress! 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 


19 


II. 


Bring  forth  the  horse  ! 

Byron. 

EING  ready  to  start,  Esmeralda,  the 
question  now  arises  :  "Is  a  riding- 
school,"  as  the  girl  asked  about  the 
new  French  play,  "  a  place  to  which 
one  can  take  her  mother  ?  "  Little  girls  too 
young  to  dress  themselves  should  be  attended 
by  their  mothers  or  by  their  maids,  but  an  older 
girl  no  more  needs  guardianship  at  riding-school 
than  at  any  other  place  at  which  she  receives 
instruction,  and  there  is  no  more  reason  why 
her  mother  should  follow  her  into  the  ring  than, 
into  the  class-room. 

Her  presence,  even  if  she  preserve  absolutej 
silence,  will  probably  embarrass  both  teacher; 
and  pupil,  and  although  her  own  children  may- 
not  be  affected  by  it,  it  will  be  decidedly  trouble- 
some to  the  children  of  other  mothers. 

If,  instead  of  being  quiet,  she  talk,  and  itds. 
the  nature  of  the  mother  who  accompanies,  her*- 


20  ffl  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

daughter  to  riding-school  to  talk  volubly  and 
ioudly,  she  will  become  a  nuisance,  and  even  a 
source  of  actual  danger,  by  distracting  the  at- 
tention of  the  master  from  his  pupils,  and  the 
attention  of  the  pupils  from  their  horses,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  possibility  that  some  of  her 
pretty,  ladylike  little  screams  of,  "  Oh,  darling, 
I  know  you're  tired  !  "  "  Don't  you  want  to  dis- 
mount, dear?"  or,  "  Oh,  what  a  horrid  horse; 
see  him  jump  !  "  may  really  frighten  some  lucky 
animal  whose  acquaintance  has  included  no 
women  but  the  sensible. 

If  she  be  inclined  to  laugh  at  the  awkward 
beginners,  and  to  ridicule  them  audibly  —  but 
really,  Esmeralda,  it  should  not  be  necessary  to 
consider  such  an  action,  impossible  in  a  well- 
bred  woman,  unlikely  in  a  woman  of  good  feel- 
ing !  Leave  your  mother,  if  not  at  home,  in  the 
dressing-room  or  the  reception  room,  and  go  to 
the  mounting-stand  alone. 

In  some  schools  you  may  ride  at  any  time, 
but  the  usual  morning  hours  for  ladies'  lessons 
are  from  nine  o'clock  until  noon,  and  the  after- 
noon hours  from  two  o'clock  until  four. 

Some  masters  prefer  that  their  pupils  should 


IN  THE  BIDWG-SCHOOL.  21 

have  fixed  days  and  hours  for  their  lessons,  and 
others  allow  the  very  largest  liberty.  For  your 
own  sake  it  is  better  to  have  a  regular  time  for 
your  lessons,  but  if  you  cannot  manage  to  do 
so,  do  not  complain  if  you  sometimes  have  to 
wait  a  few  minutes  for  your  horse,  or  for  your 
master. 

The  school  is  not  carried  on  entirely  for 
your  benefit,  although  you  will  at  first  assume 
that  it  is.  As  a  rule,  a  single  lesson  will  cost 
two  dollars,  but  a  ten-lesson  ticket  will  cost  but 
fifteen  dollars,  a  twenty-lesson  ticket  twenty- 
five  dollars,  and  a  ticket  for  twenty  exercise 
rides  twenty  dollars.  In  schools  which  give 
music-rides,  there  are  special  rates  for  the  even- 
ings upon  which  they  take  place,  but  you  need 
not  think  of  music-rides  until  you  have  had  at 
least  the  three  lessons  which   you  desire. 

Buy  your  ticket  before  you  go  to  the  dressing- 
room,  and  ask  if  you  may  have  a  key  to  a  locker. 
Dress  as  quickly  as  you  can,  and  if  there  be  no 
maid  in  the  dressing-room,  lock  up  your  street 
clothing  and  keep  your  key.  If  there  be  a 
maid,  she  will  attend  to  this  matter,  and  will 
assist  you  in  putting  on  your  skirt,  showing  you 


22  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

that  it  buttons  on  the  left  side,  and  that  you 
must  pin  down  the  basque  of  your  jersey  or 
your  jacket  in  the  back,  unless  you  desire  it  to 
wave  wildly  with  every  leap  of  your  horse. 
Flatter  not  yourself  that  lead  weights  will  pre- 
vent this  !  When  a  horse  begins  a  canter  that 
sends  you,  if  your  feelings  be  any  gauge,  eight- 
een good  inches  nearer  the  ceiling,  do  you  think 
that  an  ounce  of  lead  will  remain  stationary  ? 
Give  a  final  touch  to  your  hairpins  and  hatpins, 
button  your  gloves,  pull  the  rubber  straps  of 
your  habit  over  your  right  toe  and  left  heel,  and 
you  are  ready. 

In  most  schools,  you  will  be  made  to  mount 
from  the  ground,  and  you  will  find  it  surpris- 
ingly and  delightfully  easy  to  you.  What  it 
may  be  to  the  master  who  puts  you  into  the 
saddle  is  another  matter,  but  nine  out  of  ten 
teachers  will  make  no  complaint,  and  will  assure 
you  that  you  do  very  well. 

If  you  wish  to  deceive  any  other  girl's  incon- 
siderate mother  whom  you  may  find  comfortably 
seated  in  a  good  position  for  criticism,  and  to 
make  her  suppose  that  you  are  an  old  rider, 
keep  silence.     Do  not  criticise  your  horse  or  his 


IN  THE  BIDING-SGHOOL.  23 

equipments,  do  not  profess  inability  to  mount, 
but  when  your  master  says  "  Now  !  "  step  for- 
ward and  stand  facing  in  the  same  direction  as 
your  horse,  placing  your  right  hand  on  the 
upper  pommel  of  the  two  on  the  left  of  the 
saddle. 

Set  your  left  foot  in  whichever  hand  he  holds 
out  for  it.  Some  masters  offer  the  left,  and 
some  the  right,  and  some  count  for  a  pupil,  and 
others  prefer  that  she  should  count  for  herself. 
The  usual  "  One,  two,  three  !  "  means,  one, 
rest  the  weight  strongly  on  the  right  foot ;  two, 
bend  the  right  knee,  keeping  the  body  perfectly 
erect ;  three,  spring  upward  from  the  right  foot, 
turning  very  slightly  to  the  left,  so  as  to  place 
yourself  sidewise  on  the  saddle,  your  right  hand 
toward  the  horse's  head. 

Some  masters  offer  a  shoulder  as  a  support 
for  a  pupil's  left  hand,  and  some  face  toward  the 
horse's  head  and  some  toward  his  tail,  so  it  is 
best  for  you  to  wait  a  little  for  directions, 
Esmeralda,  and  not  to  suppose  that,  because 
you  know  all  about  Lucy  Fountain's  way  of 
mounting  a  horse,  or  about  James  Burdock's 
tuition  of  Mabel  Vane,  there  is  no  other  method 
of  putting  a  lady  in  the  saddle. 


24  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

After  your  first  lesson,  you  will  find  it  well  to 
practise  springing  upward  from  the  right  foot, 
holding  your  left  on  a  hassock,  or  a  chair  rung, 
your  right  hand  raised  as  if  grasping  the  pom- 
mel, your  shoulders  carefully  kept  back,  and 
your  body  straight.  It  is  best  to  perform  this 
exercise  before  a  mirror,  and  when  you  begin  to 
think  that  you  have  mastered  it,  close  your  eyes, 
give  ten  upward  springs  and  then  look  at  your- 
self. A  hopeless  wreck,  eh  ?  Not  quite  so  bad 
as  that,  but,  before,  you  unconsciously  corrected 
your  position  by  the  eye,  and  you  must  learn  to 
do  it  entirely  by  feeling.  You  will  probably 
improve  very  much  on  a  second  trial,  because 
your  shoulders  will  begin  to  be  sensitive.  Why 
not  practise  this  exercise  before  your  first  les- 
son ?  Because  you  should  know  just  how  your 
master  prefers  to  stand,  in  order  to  be  able  to 
imagine  him  standing  as  he  really  will.  It  is 
not  unusual  to  see  riders  of  some  experience 
puzzled  and  made  awkward  by  an  innovation  on 
what  they  have  regarded  as  the  true  and  only 
method  of  mounting,  although,  when  once  the 
right  leg  and  wrist  are  properly  trained,  a 
woman  ought  to  be  able  to   reach  the  saddle 


W  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL.  25 

without  caring  what  is  her  escort's  method  of 
assistance. 

Mounting  from  a  high  horseblock  is  a  matter 
of  being  fairly  lifted  into  the  saddle,  and  you 
cannot  possibly  do  it  improperly.  It  is  easy, 
but  it  gives  you  no  training  for  rides  outside 
the  school,  and  masters  use  it,  not  because  they 
approve  of  it,  but  because  their  pupils,  not 
knowing  how  easy  it  is  to  mount  from  the 
ground,  often  desire  it. 

But,  being  in  the  saddle,  turn  so  as  to  face 
your  horse's  head,  put  your  right  knee  over  the 
pommel,  and  slip  your  left  foot  into  the  stirrup. 
Then  rise  on  your  left  foot  and  smooth  your 
skirt,  a  task  in  which  your  master  will  assist 
you,  and  take  your  reins  and  your  whip  from 
him. 

How  shall  you  hold  your  reins  ?  As  your 
master  tells  you  !  Probably,  he  will  give  you  but 
one  rein  at  first,  and  very  likely  will  direct  you 
to  hold  it  in  both  hands,  keeping  them  five  or 
six  inches  apart,  the  wrists  on  a  level  with  the 
elbows  or  even  a  very  little  lower,  and  he  is  not 
likely  to  insist  on  any  other  details,  knowing  that 
it  will  be  difficult  for  you  to  attain  perfection  in 


26  IN  THE  BIDING- SCHOOL. 

these.  An  English  master  might  give  you  a 
single  rein  to  be  passed  outside  the  little  finger, 
and  between  the  forefinger  and  middle  finger, 
the  loop  coming  between  the  forefinger  and 
thumb,  and  being  held  in  place  by  the  thumb. 
Then  he  would  expect  you  to  keep  your  right 
shoulder  back  very  firmly,  but  a  French  master 
will  tell  you  that  it  is  better  to  learn  to  keep 
the  shoulder  back  while  holding  a  rein  in  the 
right  hand,  and  an  American  master  will  usually 
allow  you  to  take  your  choice,  but,  until  you 
have  experience,  obey  orders  in  silence. 

And  now,  having  taken  your  whip,  draw  your- 
self back  in  your  saddle  so  as  to  feel  the  pom- 
mel under  your  right  knee  ;  sit  well  towards  the 
right,  square  your  shoulders,  force  your  elbows 
well  clown,  hollow  your  waist  a  little,  and  start. 
He  won't  go  ?  Of  course  he  will  not,  until  bid- 
den to  do  so,  if  he  know  his  business.  Bend 
forward  the  least  bit  in  the  world,  draw  very 
slightly  on  the  reins,  and  rather  harder  on  the 
right,  so  as  to  turn  him  from  the  stand,  arid 
away  he  walks,  and  you  are  in  the  ring.  You 
had  no  idea  that  it  was  so  large,  and  you  feel 
as  if  lost  on  a  western  prairie,  but  you  are  in  no 


IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL.  27 

danger  whatsoever.  You  cannot  fall  off  while 
your  right  knee  and  left  foot  are  in  place,  and 
if  you  deliberately  threw  yourself  into  the  tan, 
you  would  be  unhurt,  and  the  riding-school 
horse  knows  better  than  to  tread  on  anything 
unusual  which  he  may  find  in  his  way. 

Now,  Esmeralda,  keep  your  mind  —  No,  your 
saddle  is  not  turning  ;  it  is  well  girthed.  You 
feel  as  if  it  were  ?  Pray,  how  do  you  know  how 
you  would  feel  if  a  saddle  were  to  turn  ?  Did 
you  ever  try  it?  And  your  saddle. is  not  too 
large  !  Neither  is  it  too  small  !  And  there 
is  nothing  at  all  the  matter  with  your  horse ! 
Now,  Esmeralda,  keep  your  mind  —  No,  that 
other  girl  is  not  going  to  ride  you  down.  Her 
horse  would  not  allow  her,  if  she  endeavored  to 
do  so.  The  trouble  is  that  she  does  not  guide 
her  horse,  but  is  worrying  herself  about  stay- 
ing on  his  back,  when  she  should  be  thinking 
about  making  him  turn  sharp  corners  and  go 
straight  forward.  Regard  her  as  a  warning, 
Esmeralda,  and  keep  your  mind —  What  is 
the  matter  with  the  reins  ?  Apparently  they 
are  oiled,  for  they  have  slipped  from  under  your 
thumbs,  and  your  horse  is  wandering  along  with 


28  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 


drooping  head,  looking  as  if  training  to  play  the 
part  of  the  dead  warrior's  charger  at  a  military 
funeral. 

Shorten  your  reins  now,  carefully  !  Not  quite 
so  much,  or  your  horse  will  think  that  you 
intend  to  begin  to  trot,  and  do  not  lean 
backward,  or  he  will  fancy  that  you  wish  him 
to  back  or  to  stop.  The  poor  thing  has  to 
guess  at  what  a  pupil  wishes,  and  no  wonder 
that  he  sometimes  mistakes. 

But,  Esmeralda,  keep  your  mind  on  those 
thumbs  and  hold  them  close  to  your  forefingers. 
Driving  will  give  no  idea  of  the  slipperiness  of 
leather,  but  after  your  first  riding  lesson  you 
will  wonder  why  it  is  not  used  to  floor  roller- 
skating  rinks.  But  remember  that  your  reins 
are  for  your  horse's  support,  not  for  yours  ;  they 
are  the  telegraph  wires  along  which  you  send 
despatches  to  him,  not  parallel  bars  upon  which 
your  weight  is  to  depend.  Hitherto,  you  have 
not  ridden  an  inch.  Your  horse  has  strolled 
about,  and  you  have  not  dropped  from  his  back, 
and  that  is  not  riding,  but  now  you  shall  begin. 

In  a  large  ring,  pupils  are  required  to  keep  to 
the  wall  when  walking,  as  this  gives  the  horse  a 


IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL.  29 

certain  guide,  but  in  small  rings  the  rule  is  to 
keep  to  the  wall  when  trotting,  so  as  to  improve 
every  foot  of  space,  and  to  walk  about  six  feet 
from  the  wall,  not  in  a  circle,  but  describing  a 
rectangle.  New  pupils  are  always  taught  to 
turn  to  the  right,  and  to  make  all  their  move- 
ments in  that  direction.  Hold  your  thumbs 
firmly  in  place,  and  draw  your  right  hand  a 
very  little  upward  and  inward,  touching  your 
whip  lightly  to  the  horse's  right  side,  and  turn- 
ing your  face  and  leaning  your  body  slightly 
to  the  right. 

The  instant  that  the  corner  is  turned  drop 
your  hand,  keeping  the  thumb  in  place,  square 
your  shoulders,  look  straight  between  your 
horse's  ears,  and  then  allow  your  eyes  to  range 
upward  as  far  as  possible  without  losing  sight 
of  him  altogether.  No  matter  what  is  going  on 
about  you.  Very  likely,  the  criticising  mamma 
on  the  mounting-stand  is  scolding  sharply  about 
nothing.  Possibly,  a  dear  little  boy  is  fairly  fly- 
ing about  the  ring  on  a  pony  that  seems  to  have 
cantered  out  of  a  fairy  tale,  and  a  marvel- 
lously graceful  girl,  whom  you  envy  with  your 
whole  soul,  is  doing  pirouettes  in  the  centre 
of  the  ring. 


30  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 

All  that  is  not  your  business.  Your  sole 
concern  is  to  keep  your  body  in  position,  and 
your  mind  fixed  on  making  your  horse  obey 
you,  doing  nothing  of  his  own  will.  Stop  him 
now  and  then  by  leaning  back,  and  drawing  on 
the  reins,  not  with  your  body,  but  with  your 
hands.  Then  lean  forward  and  go  on,  but  if 
he  should  remain  planted  as  fast  as  the  Great 
Pyramid,  if  when  started  he  should  go  like  a 
snail,  if  he  should  refuse  to  pay  any  attention 
to  the  little  taps  of  your  left  heel  and  the 
touches  of  your  whip,  nay,  if  he  should  lie  down 
and  pretend  to  die,  like  a  trick  horse  in  a  circus, 
don't  cluck.  No  good  riding  master  will  teach 
a  pupil  to  cluck  or  will  permit  the  practice  to 
pass  unreproved,  and  riding-school  horses  do 
not  understand  it,  and  are  quite  as  likely  to 
start  at  the  cluck  of  a  rider  on  the  other  side 
of  the  ring  as  they  are  when  a  similar  noise  is 
made  by  the  person  on  their  own  backs. 

But  now,  just  as  you  have  shortened  your  reins 
for  the  fortieth  time  or  so,  your  master  rides  up 
beside  you.  You  told  him  of  your  little  three- 
lesson  plan,  and,  being  wise  in  his  generation,  he 
smilingly  assented  to  it.     "  Shall  we  trot?"   he 


IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL.  31 

asks,  in  an  agreeable  voice.  "  Shorten  your  reins, 
now  !  Don't  pull  on  them  !  Right  shoulder 
back !  Now  rise  from  the  saddle  as  I  count, 
'One,  two,  three,  four!'  Off  we  go!"  You 
would  like  to  know  what  he  meant  by  "off!" 
"Off,"  indeed!  You  thought  you  were  "off" 
the  saddle.  You  have  been  bounced  up  and 
down  mercilessly,  and  have  gasped,  "  Stop  him  !  " 
before  you  have  been  twice  around  the  ring, 
and  not  one  corner  have  you  been  able  to  turn 
properly.  As  for  your  elbows,  you  know  that 
they  have  been  flying  all  abroad,  but  still  —  it 
was  fun,  and  you  would  like  to  try  again.  You 
do  try  again,  and,  at  last,  you  are  conscious  of 
a  sudden  feeling  of  elasticity,  of  sympathy  with 
your  horse,  of  rising  when  he  does,  and  then 
your  master  looks  at  you  triumphantly,  and 
says  :  "  You  rose  that  time,"  and  leaves  you  to 
go  to  some  other  pupil.  And  then  you  walk 
your  horse  again,  trying  to  keep  in  position, 
and  you  make  furtive  little  essays  at  trotting 
by  yourself,  and  find  that  you  cannot  keep  your 
horse  to  the  wall,  although  you  pull  your  hardest 
at  his  left  rein,  the  reason  being  that,  uncon- 
sciously, you  also  pull  at  the  right  rein,  and  that 


32  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 


he  calmly  obeys  what  the  reins  tell  him  and  goes 
straight  forward.  Then  your  master  offers  to 
help  you  by  lifting  you,  grasping  your  right  arm 
with  his  left  hand,  and  you  make  one  or  two 
more  circuits  of  the  ring,  and  then  the  hour  is 
over  and  you  dismount  and  go  to  the  dressing- 
room. 

Tired,  Esmeralda  ?  A  little,  and  you  do  won- 
der whether  you  shall  not  be  a  bruised  piece  of 
humanity  to-morrow.  Not  if  your  flesh  be  as 
hard  as  any  girl's  should  be  in  these  days  of 
gymnasiums,  but  if  you  have  managed  to  bruise 
a  muscle  or  to  strain  one,  lay  a  bottle  of  hot 
water  against  it  when  you  go  to  bed  and  it  will 
not  be  painful  in  the  morning.  If,  in  spite  of 
warnings,  you  have  been  so  careless  about  your 
underclothing  as  to  cause  a  blister,  a  bit  of 
muslin  saturated  with  vaseline,  with  a  drop  of 
tincture  of  benzoin  rubbed  into  it,  makes  a 
plaster  which  will  end  the  smart  instantly. 

This  is  not  a  physician's  prescription,  but  is 
that  of  a  horseman  who  for  years  led  the  best 
riding  class  in  Boston,  and  it  is  asserted  that 
nobody  was  ever  known  to  be  dissatisfied  with 
its  effects.     Muffle  yourself  warmly,  Esmeralda, 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  33 

and  hasten  home,  for  nothing  is  easier  than  to 
catch  cold  after  riding.  Air  your  frock  and 
cloak  before  an  open  fire  to  volatilize  the  slight 
ammoniacal  scent  which  they  must  inevitably 
contract  in  the  locker,  and  then  be  as  good  to 
yourself  as  the  hostler  will  be  to  your  poor 
horse.  That  is  to  say,  give  yourself  a  sponge 
bath  in  hot  water,  with  a  dash  of  Sarg's  soap 
and  almond  meal  in  it,  rubbing  dry  with  a  Turk- 
ish towel,  and  then  dress  and  go  down  to  dinner. 
Looking  at  your  glowing  face  and  shining 
eyes,  your  father  will  tell  your  mother  that  she 
should  have  gone  also,  but  when  he  marks  the 
havoc  which  you  make  with  the  substantial  part 
of  the  meal,  and  sees  that  your  appetite  for 
dessert  is  twice  as  good  as  usual,  he  will  reflect 
upon  his  butcher's  and  grocer's  bills,  and,  con- 
sidering what  they  would  be  with  provision  to 
make  for  two  such  voracious  creatures,  he  will 
say,  "No,  Esmeralda,  don't  take  your  mother \n 


34  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 


#«si^ 


in. 

Up  into  the  saddle, 
Lithe  and  light,  vaulting  she  perched. 

Hayne. 

ND  you  still  think,  Esmeralda,  that 
three  lessons  will  be  enough  to  make 
you  a  horse  woman,  and  that  by 
next  Monday  you  will  be  able  to  join 
the  road  party,  and  witch  the  world  with  your 
accomplishments  ? 

Very  well,  array  yourself  for  conquest  and 
come  to  the  school.  Talk  is  cheap,  according 
to  a  proverb  more  common  than  elegant ;  but  it 
is  sinful  to  waste  the  cheapest  of  things.  While 
you  dress,  you  will  meditate  upon  the  sensation 
which  it  is  your  intention  to  make  in  the  ring, 
and  upon  the  humiliation  which  you  will  heap 
upon  your  riding  master  by  showing  wonderful 
ability  to  rise  in  the  saddle.  Although  not  quite 
ready  to  assert  ability  to  ride  hour  after  hour  like 
a  mounted  policeman,  you  feel  certain  that  you 
could  ride  as  gracefully  as  he,  and  perhaps  you 
are  right,  for  official  position  does  not  confer 


m  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  35 

wisdom  in  equitation.  To  say  nothing  of  police- 
men, it  is  not  many  seasons  since  an  ambitious 
member  of  the  governor's  staff  presented  him- 
self before  a  riding  master  to  "  take  a  lesson, 
just  to  get  used  to  it,  you  know ;  got  to  review 
some  regiments  at  Framingham  to-morrow." 
And  when,  after  some  trouble,  he  had  been 
landed  in  the  saddle,  never  a  strap  had  he,  and 
long  before  his  lesson  hour  was  finished,  he  was 
a  spectacle  to  make  a  Prussian  sentinel  giggle 
while  on  duty. 

And  for  your  further  encouragement,  Esmer- 
alda, know  that  it  is  but  a  few  years  ago  that  a 
riding  master,  in  answer  to  a  rebellious  pupil  who 
defended  some  sin  against  Baucher  with,  "  Mr. 
—  of  the  governor's  staff  always  does  so,"  re- 
torted, "  There  is  just  one  man  on  the  gov- 
ernor's staff  who  can  ride,  and  I  taught  him  ; 
and  if  he  had  ridden  like  that  !  "  An  awful  si- 
lence expressed  so  many  painful  possibilities 
that  the  pupil  was  meek  and  humble  ever  after, 
and  yet  it  was  not  written  in  any  newspaper 
that  any  of  those  ignorant  colonels  were 
thrown  from  their  saddles  in  public,  nor  did 
the  strapless  gentleman  furnish  amusement  to 


36  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 

civilian   or  soldier  by  rolling  on  the  grass  at 
Framingham. 

The  truth  is,  that  the  number  of  persons 
able  to  judge  of  riding  is  smaller  than  the  num- 
ber able  to  ride,  and  that  number  is  rather  less 
than  one  in  a  hundred  of  those  who  appear  on 
horseback  either  in  the  ring  or  on  the  road  ;  but 
Boston  could  furnish  a  legion  of  men  and  women 
who  find  healthful  enjoyment  in  the  saddle,  and 
who  look  passably  well  while  doing  it,  and  possi- 
bly you  may  add  yourself  to  their  ranks  after  a 
very  few  lessons,  although  there  is  —  You  are 
ready  ?     Come,  then  ! 

Into  the  saddle  well  enough,  thanks  to  your 
master,  but  why  that  ghastly  pause  ?  Turn  in- 
stantly, place  your  knee  over  the  pommel  and 
thrust  your  foot  into  the  stirrup,  if  you  possibly 
can,  without  waiting  for  assistance.  Teachers 
of  experience,  riding  masters,  dancing  masters, 
musicians,  artists,  gymnasts,  will  unite  in  telling 
you  that  unless  a  pupil's  mental  qualities  be 
rather  extraordinary,  it  is  more  difficult  to  im- 
part knowledge  at  a  second  lesson  than  at 
the  first,  simply  because  the  pupil  gives  less 
attention,  expecting  his  muscles  to  work  me- 
chanically. 


IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  37 

Undoubtedly,  after  long  training,  fingers  will 
play  scales,  and  flying  feet  whirl  their  owner 
about  a  ballroom  without  making  him  conscious 
of  every  muscular  extension  and  contraction, 
but  this  facility  comes  only  to  those  who,  in  the 
beginning,  fix  an  undivided  mind  upon  what 
they  are  doing,  and  who  never  fall  into  wilful 
negligence. 

Keep  watch  of  yourself,  manage  yourself 
as  assiduously  as  you  watch  and  manage  your 
horse,  and  ten  times  more  assiduously  than 
you  would  watch  your  fingers  at  the  piano, 
or  your  feet  in  the  dancing  class,  because  you 
must  watch  for  two,  for  your  horse  and  for  your- 
self. If  you  give  him  an  incorrect  signal,  he 
will  obey  it,  you  will  be  unprepared  for  his  next 
act,  and  in  half  a  minute  you  will  have  a  very 
pretty  misunderstanding  on  your  hands. 

But  there  is  no  reason  for  being  frightened. 
You  cannot  fall,  and  if  your  horse  should  show 
any  signs  of  actual  misbehavior,  you  would  find 
your  master  at  your  right  hand,  with  fingers  of 
steel  to  grasp  your  reins,  and  a  voice  accus- 
tomed to  command  obedience  from  quadrupeds, 
howsoever  little  of  it  he  mav  be  able  to  obtain 


38  IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL. 

at  first  from  well-meaning  bipeds.     You  are  per- 
fectly safe  with  him,  Esmeralda,  not  only  be- 
cause he  knows  how  to  ride,  but  because  the 
strongest  of  all  human  motives,  self-interest,  is 
enlisted    to   promote   your   safety.     "  She  said 
she  was   afraid  to  risk  her  neck,"    said  an  ex- 
hausted teacher,  speaking  the  words  of  frank- 
ness to  a  spectator,  as  a  timid  and  stupid  pupil 
disappeared    into    the  dressing-room,     "  and    I 
told    her  that  she  could  afford  the  risk  better 
than    I.     If   she  broke    it,  don't  you  know,   it 
probably  could  not  be  mended,  but  mine  might 
be  broken   in  trying  to  save  her,  and,  at   the 
best,  my  reputation  and  my  means  of  gaining  a 
livelihood  would  be  gone  forever  in  an  instant. 
It's  only  a  neck  with  her ;  it's  life  and  wife  and 
babies  that   I  risk,  and   I'll  insure  her  neck." 
And  when  the  stupid  pupil,  who  was  a  lady  in 
spite  of  her  dulness,  came  from  the  dressing- 
room,  calmed  and  quieted,  and  began  to  offer  a 
blushing  apology,  he  repeated  his  remarks  to 
her,  and  so  excellent  was  the  understanding  es- 
tablished between  them  after  this  little  incident 
that  she  actually  came  to  be  a  tolerable  rider. 
Feeling  that  he  would  tell  her  to  do  nothing 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  39 

dangerous  to  her,  she  was  ready  at  his  command 
to  lie  down  on  her  horse's  back  and  to  raise  her- 
self again  and  again,  and,  after  doing  this  a  few 
times,  and  bending  alternately  to  the  right  and 
to  the  left,  the  saddle  seemed  quite  homelike, 
and  to  remain  in  it  sitting  upright  was  very 
easy  for  a  few  moments. 

Only  for  a  few  moments,  however,  for  the 
necessity  of  paying  attention  still  remained, 
as  it  does  with  you,  and  again  she  stiffened 
herself,  as  you  are  doing  now. 

As  Mr.  Mead  very  justly  says,  in  his  "  Horse- 
manship for  Women,"  a  lesson  may  be  learned 
from  a  bag  of  grain  set  up  on  horseback,  which 
is,  that  while  the  lower  part  of  your  body  should 
settle  itself  almost  lazily  in  place,  the  upper 
part,  which  is  comparatively  light,  should  sway 
slightly  but  easily  with  the  horse's  motion. 

Manage  to  ride  behind  the  girl  who  was 
teaching  herself  to  do  pirouettes  the  other  day. 
Her  horse  is  walking  rapidly,  and  you  could 
almost  fancy  that  her  prettily  squared  shoulders 
were  part  of  him,  so  sympathetically  do  they 
respond  to  each  step,  but  if  you  should  let  your 
horse  straggle  against  hers  and  frighten  him, 


40  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 

you  would  see  that  no  rock  is  more  firmly  seated 
than  she. 

If  it  should  please  your  master  to  require 
you  to  perform  the  bending  exercise,  you  will 
feel  the  advantage  of  having  practised  it  at 
home,  for  it  is  infinitely  easier  in  the  saddle 
than  it  is  on  the  floor,  and  your  riding  master 
will  be  exceedingly  pleased  at  the  ease  with 
which  you  effect  it.  There  is  no  necessity 
for  telling  him  that  the  little  feat  is  quite 
familiar  to  you.  The  woman  of  sense  keeps 
as  many  of  her  doings  secret  as  she  can, 
and  the  wise  pupil  confesses  to  no  knowledge 
except  that  derived  from  her  master.  Being,  in 
spite  of  his  superior  knowledge,  a  mortal  man, 
he  will  take  twice  the  pains  with  her,  and  a 
hundredfold  more  pride  in  her  if  persuaded  that 
she  owes  everything  to  him. 

There  is  no  reason  to  worry  about  a  little 
stiffness  during  the  first  lessons.  It  is  almost 
entirely  nervousness,  and  will  disappear  as  soon 
as  you  are  quite  comfortable  and  easy,  but 
the  beautiful  flexibility  of  the  good  horse- 
woman comes  only  to  her  whose  muscles 
are  perfectly  trained,  and  it  is  surprising  how 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  41 

few  muscles  there  are  to  which  one  may  not 
give    employment    in    an    hour's    practice    in 
the   ring.      If  you  like,  you  may,  without  the 
assistance  of  your  master,  lean  forward  to  the 
right  side  until  your  left  shoulder  touches  your 
horse's   crest,  and  when  you  are  trotting  it   is 
well  now  and  then  to  lean  forward  and  to  the 
right  until  you  can  see  your  horse's  forefeet,  but 
you  would  better  not  perform  the  same  exercise 
on  the  left  side  for  the  present,  for  you  might 
overbalance   yourself  and  almost  slip  from  the 
saddle.      If  able,  as  you  should  be,  to  touch  the 
floor  with  your  finger  tips  without  bending  your 
knees,  this  little  movement  will  be  nothing  to 
you,  but    do  not  bend  to  the    left,   Esmeralda. 
Why  not  ?      Why,  because  if  you  will  have  the 
truth,  you  are  slipping  toward  the  left  already, 
your    right   shoulder    is  drooping  forward,  and 
your  weight  is  hanging  in   your  stirrup  and  pull- 
ing your  saddle  to  the  left    so  forcibly  that  your 
horse  has  lost  all   respect  for  you,  and  would  be 
thoroughly  uncomfortable,  were  it  not  that  you 
have  forgotten  all  about  your  thumbs,  and  have 
allowed   your  reins  to   slip  away  from  you,  so 
that  he  is  going  where  he  pleases,  except  when 


42  IJST  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL. 

you  jerk  him  sharply  to  the  right,  and  then  he 
shakes  and  tosses  his  head  and  goes   on  con- 
tentedly, as  one  saying,  "All  things  have  an 
end,  even  a  new  pupil's  hour." 

Now,  sit  well  to  the  right,  remembering  the 
meal  sack ;  shorten  your  reins,  keeping  your 
elbows  down  and  your  hands  low.  Shorten 
them  a  very  little  more,  so  as  to  bring  your 
elbows  further  forward.  When  you  stop,  you 
should  not  be  compelled  to  jerk  your  elbows 
back  of  your  waist,  but  should  bring  them 
into  line  with  it,  leaning  back  slightly,  and 
drawing  yourself  upward.  Stop  your  horse 
now,  for  practice.  Do  not  speak  to  him  dur- 
ing your  first  lessons,  except  by  your  master's 
express  command,  but  address  him  in  his  own 
language,  using  your  reins,  your  foot,  and  your 
whip,  if  your  master  permit.  "  Why  do  you 
make  coquette  with  your  horse?"  asked  a 
French  master  of  a  pretty  girl  who  was  coax- 
ingly  calling  her  mount  "a  naughty,  horrid 
thing,"  and  casting  glances  fit  to  distract  a  man 
on  the  ungrateful  creature's  irresponsive  crest. 
"Your  horse  does  not  care  anything  at  all  about 
you  ;  don't  you  think  he  does  !  "    pursued  he, 


IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  43 

ungallantly.  "  You  may  coax  me  as  much  as 
you  like,"  said  a  Yankee  teacher  to  a  young 
woman  who  was  trying  the  "treat  him  kindly  " 
theory,  and  was  calling  her  horse  a  "  dear  old 
ducky  darling  ;  "  "  and,"  he  continued,  "  I'm 
rather  fond  of  candy  myself,  but  it  isn't  coaxing 
or  lump  sugar  that  will  make  that  horse  go. 
It's  brains  and  reins  and  foot  and  whip." 

When  you  have  a  horse  of  your  own,  talk  to 
him  as  much  as  you  like,  and  teach  him  your 
language  as  an  accomplishment,  but  address  the 
riding-school  horse  in  his  own  tongue,  until  you 
have  mastered  it  yourself. 

Now,  adjust  yourself  carefully,  lean  for- 
ward, extend  your  hands  a  very  little,  touch 
your  horse  with  your  left  heel,  and,  as  soon 
as  he  moves,  sit  erect  and  let  your  hands 
resume  their  position.  Hasten  his  steps  until 
he  is  almost  trotting,  before  you  strike  him 
with  the  whip.  You  can  do  this  by  very 
slightly  opening  and  shutting  your  fingers  in 
time  with  the  slight  pull  which  he  gives  with 
his  head  at  every  step,  by  touches  with  your 
heel,  and  by  touches,  not  blows,  with  the  whip, 
and  by  allowing  yourself,  not  to  rise,  but  to  sit 


U  IN  THE  BID1NG-SCH00L. 

a  little  lighter  with  each  step.  It  is  not  very 
easy  to  do,  and  you  need  not  be  discouraged  if 
you  cannot  effect  it  after  many  trials.  Some 
masters  will  tell  you  to  strike  your  horse  on  the 
shoulder,  and  some  will  prefer  that  you  should 
strike  him  on  the  flank  as  a  signal  for  trotting. 
Those  who  prefer  the  former  will  tell  you  to 
carry  your  whip  pointing  forward ;  the  others 
will  tell  you  to  carry  it  pointing  backward,  and 
many  masters  will  say  that  it  makes  little  differ- 
ence as  long  as  it  is  carried  gracefully,  and  as 
long  as  you  understand  that  it  takes  the  place 
of  a  leg  on  the  right  side  of  the  horse.  General 
Anderson,  in  "  On  Horseback,"  lays  down  the 
rule  that  a  horse  should  never  be  struck  on  the 
shoulder,  as  it  will  cause  him  to  swerve,  but  use 
your  master's  horses  in  obedience  to  his  orders. 
Now,  then,  one,  two,  three,  four  !  One,  two, 
three,  four !  You  don't  seem  to  be  astonishing 
anybody  very  much,  Esmeralda  !  Again,  one, 
two,  three,  four  !  Never  mind  !  Sit  down  and 
let  the  horse  do  the  work.  Keep  your  left  heel 
down,  and  your  left  knee  close  to  the  saddle. 
Not  close  to  the  pommel,  understand,  but  close  to 
the  saddle.    Try  and  imagine,  if  you  like,  that  you 


IX  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  45 


are  carrying  a  dollar  between  the  knee  and  the 
saddle,  after  the  West  Point  fashion,  and  do  not 
fret  overmuch  because  you  are  not  rising.  If  you 
were  a  cavalryman  riding  with  your  troop,  you 
would  not  be  allowed  to  rise,  and  to  sit  properly 
while  sitting  close  is  an  accomplishment  not  to 
be  despised.  "  Ow  !  "  What  does  that  mean  ? 
You  rose  without  trying  ?  Watch  yourself  care- 
fully, and  if  such  a  phenomenon  should  occur 
again,  try  to  make  it  repeat  itself  by  letting 
yourself  down  into  the  saddle,  and  then  rising 
again  quickly.  But  keep  trotting  !  Count  how 
many  times  you  trot  around  the  ring,  and  men- 
tally pledge  yourself  to  increase  the  number  of 
circuits  at  your  next  lesson.  And  —  "  Cluck  !  " 
Sit  down  in  the  saddle,  Esmeralda  !  Lean 
back  a  little,  bring  your  left  knee  up  against  the 
pommel,  keeping  the  lower  part  of  the  leg  close 
against  the  saddle  ;  keep  your  right  knee  in 
place  and  your  right  foot  and  the  lower  part  of 
your  right  leg  close  to  the  saddle ;  guide  your 
horse,  but  do  not  otherwise  exert  yourself.  How 
do  you  like  it  ?  Delightful  ?  Yes,  with  a  good 
horse  it  is  as  delightful  as  sitting  in  a  rocking- 
chair,  but,  if  you  were  a  rider  of  experience, 


46  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 

you  would  not  allow  your  horse  to  enter  upon 
the  gait  without  permission,  but  would  bring 
him  back  to  the  trot  by  slightly  pulling  first  the 
left  rein  and  then  the  right,  a  movement  which 
is  called  sawing  the  mouth.  The  poor  creature 
is  really  not  in  fault.  He  heard  the  cluck  given 
by  that  complacent-looking  man,  trotting  slowly 
about,  and  not  knowing  how  to  use  his  reins 
and  knees  in  order  to  go  faster,  and  he  said  to 
himself :  "  She  is  tired  of  trotting  and  wants  a 
rest ;  so  do  I,"  and  away  he  went.  If  you  had 
been  trying  to  rise,  you  might  have  been  thrown, 
for  the  greatest  danger  that  you  will  encounter 
in  the  school  comes  from  rising  while  the  horse 
is  at  a  canter.  The  cadence  of  the  motion  is 
triple,  instead  of  in  common  time  like  that  of 
the  trot,  and  you  will  soon  distinguish  the  dif- 
ference, but  eschew  cantering  at  first.  If  you 
once  become  addicted  to  it,  you  will  never  learn 
to  trot,  or  even  to  walk  well. 

Having  had  your  little  warning  against 
clucking,  perhaps  you  will  now  sympathize 
with  the  indignant  Englishwoman  who,  having 
been  almost  unseated  by  a  similar  mischance, 
responded,   when    the    clucking   cause   thereof 


ffl  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  47 

rode  up  to  say  that  he  was  sorry  that  her 
horse  should  behave  so  :  "  It  wasn't  the  horse 
that  was  in  fault,  sir;  it  was  a  donkey."  But 
now,  try  a  round  or  two  more  of  trotting, 
then  guide  your  horse  carefully  about  the 
ring  two  or  three  times,  bring  him  up  to  the 
mounting-stand,  dismount,  and  go  to  the  dress- 
ing-room. You  are  rather  warm,  but  not  in  the 
least  tired,  and  you  have  had  "  such  a  good 
time,"  as  you  enthusiastically  explain  to  every- 
body who  will  listen  to  you,  but  as  there  is  much 
merry  chatter  going  on  from  behind  screens, 
and  as  it  is  all  to  the  same  effect,  nobody  pays 
much  attention,  and  if  you  were  cross  and  com- 
plaining, everybody  would  laugh  at  you.  A 
riding-school  is  a  place  from  which  every  woman 
issues  better  contented  than  she  entered,  and 
there  is  no  sympathy  for  grumblers. 

Remember  to  be  careful  about  your  wraps, 
and  that  you  may  be  able  to  ride  better  next 
time,  practise  these  exercises  at  home  :  Place 
your  knees  together  and  heels  together,  adjust 
your  shoulders,  hands  and  arms  as  if  you  were 
in  the  saddle,  and  sit  down  as  far  as  possible, 
while  keeping  the  legs  vertical  from  the  knee 


48  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 


down.  Rise,  counting  "One,"  sink  again,  rise 
once  more  at  "Two,"  and  continue  through 
three  measures,  common  time.  Rest  a  minute 
and  repeat  until  you  are  a  little  weary.  Nothing 
is  gained  by  doing  too  much  work,  but  if  you  do 
just  enough  of  this  between  lessons,  you  cannot 
possibly  grow  stiff.  When  you  can  do  it  fairly 
well,  try  to  do  it  first  on  one  foot  and  then  on 
the  other,  and  then  bring  your  right  foot  in 
front  of  your  left  knee,  and,  standing  on  your 
left  foot,  assume,  as  nearly  as  possible,  the 
proper  position  for  the  saddle,  and  try  to  rise  in 
time.  You  will  not  find  it  very  difficult,  and 
you  will  be  compelled  to  keep  your  heel  down 
while  doing  it,  especially  if  you  put  a  block 
about  an  inch  thick  under  your  left  toe.  You 
may  try  doing  it  while  sitting  sidewise  in  a 
chair,  if  it  be  difficult  for  you  to  poise  yourself 
on  one  foot,  but  a  girl  who  cannot  stand  thus 
for  some  time,  long  enough  to  lace  her  riding 
boot,  for  instance,  is  much  too  weak  for  her  own 
good. 

Take  all  your  spare  minutes  for  this  work, 
Esmeralda.  Bob  up  and  down  in  all  the 
secluded  corners  of  the  house ;  try  to  feel  the 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  49 

motion  in  the  horse-cars  —  it  will  not  need 
much  effort  in  many  of  them.  And  if  you  want 
to  be  comfortable  in  a  herdic,  sit  sidewise  and 
pretend  that  the  seat  is  a  horse.  This  is  Mr. 
Hurlbut's  rule  for  riding  in  an  Irish  "outside 
car."  In  short,  while  taking  your  first  riding- 
lessons,  walk,  sit  and  think  to  the  tune  of 

"  One,  two,  three,  four ! 

Near  the  wall, 
Make  him  trot ; 

You  cannot  fall  I  " 


50  IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL. 


IV. 

The  horse  does  not  attempt  to  fly; 
He  knows  his  powers,  and  so  should  I. 

Spurgeon. 

(ILFUL  will  to  water,  eh,  Esmeral- 
da ?  You  are  determined  to  appear 
in  that  riding  party  after  your  third 
lesson,  and  you  think  that  you  "  will 
look  no  worse  than  a  great  many  others."  Un- 
doubtedly, that  is  true,  and  more's  the  pity, 
but,  since  go  you  will,  let  us  make  the  most  of 
the  third  lesson,  and  trust  that  you  will  return 
in  a  whole  piece,  like  Henry  Clay's  pie. 

You  do  not  see  why  there  is  any  more  danger 
on  the  road  than  in  the  ring,  and  you  have  never 
been  thrown  !  It  would  be  unkind,  in  the  face  of 
that  "never,"  to  remind  you  that  you  have  been 
in  the  saddle  precisely  twice,  and,  really,  there 
is  no  more  danger  from  your  incompetency, 
should  it  manifest  itself  on  the  road,  than  might 
arise  from  its  display  in  the  ring,  but  with  your 
horse  it  is  another  matter.  Having  the  whole 
world    before    him,  why  not,  he  will    meditate, 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  51 

speed  forth  into  space,  and  escape  from  the 
hateful  creature  who  jerks  his  head  so  cause- 
lessly, making  him  sigh  wearily  for  the  days  of 
his  unbroken  colthood  ?  He  could  endure  it 
within  doors,  because  he  has  noticed  that  his 
tormentor  gives  place  to  another  every  hour,  and 
pain  may  be  borne  when  it  is  not  monotonous; 
but  he  remembers  that  there  is  no  limit  to  the 
time  during  which  one  human  being  may  impel 
him  along  an  open  road,  and  he  also  remembers 
some  very  pretty  friskings,  delightful  to  him- 
self, but  disconcerting  to  his  rider,  and  he  may 
perform  some  of  them. 

Even  if  he  should,  he  would  not  unseat  a  rider 
well  accustomed  to  school  work,  but  you  !  You 
actually  rose  in  the  saddle  three  times  in  succes- 
sion, the  other  day,  and  where  were  your  elbows 
and  where  were  your  feet  when  you  ceased  ris- 
ing, and  long  before  your  steady,  quiet  mount 
understood  that  you  desired  him  to  walk  ? 

Your  master  smiles  indulgently  when  you 
announce  that  this  is  your  last  practice  lesson, 
and  says  :  "  Very  well,  you  shall  ride  Charlie, 
to-day,  at  least  for  a  little  while,  until  some 
others  come  in."     He  himself   mounts,  moves 


52  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 

off  a  pace  or  two,  one  of  the  assistant  masters 
puts  you  in  the  saddle,  and  before  the  groom 
lets  Master  Charlie's  head  go,  your  master  says, 
easily  :  "  Leave  his  reins  pretty  long,  especially 
the  right  one.  Put  your  left  knee  close  against 
the  pommel  ;  don't  try  to  rise  until  I  tell  you. 
Ready.     Now." 

You  feel  as  if  you  were  in  a  transformation 
scene  at  the  theatre.  The  windows  of  the  ring 
seem  to  run  into  one  another,  and  at  very  short 
intervals  you  catch  a  glimpse  in  the  mirror  of 
a  young  woman,  in  a  familiar  looking  Norfolk 
jacket,  sitting  with  her  elbows  as  far  behind  her 
as  if  held  there  by  the  Austrian  plan  of  running 
a  broomstick  in  front  of  the  arms  and  behind 
the  waist. 

On  and  on  !  You  earnestly  wish  to  stop,  but 
are  ashamed  to  say  so.  Close  at  your  right 
hand,  pace  for  pace  with  you,  rides  your  master, 
keeping  up  an  unbroken  fire  of  brief  ejacula- 
tion :  "  Hands  a  little  lower  !  Arms  close  to 
the  side  !  Shoulders  square  !  Square  !  Draw 
your  right  shoulder  backward  and  upward ! 
Now  down  with  your  right  elbow  !  Don't  pull 
on  the  right  rein !  Don't  lift  your  hands ! 
You'll  make  him  go  faster  ! " 


IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  53 


"  I  like  this  kind  of  trot,"  you  say  sweetly. 
"It's  easier  than  the  other  kind." 

"  It  isn't  a  trot ;  it's  a  canter,"  says  your  mas- 
ter, with  a  suspicion  of  dryness  in  his  voice, 
"but  you  may  make  him  trot  if  you  like. 
Shorten  both  reins,  especially  the  left.  Whoa, 
Charlie  !  Wait  until  I  say  '  Now,'  before  you  do 
it !  Shorten  both  reins,  especially  the  left  ; 
that  will  keep  him  to  the  wall.  Then  extend 
your  left  arm  a  little,  and  draw  back  your  right ; 
draw  back  your  left  and  extend  your  right,  and 
repeat  until  he  comes  down  to  a  trot.  That 
saw's  his  mouth,  and  gives  him  something  beside 
scampering  to  occupy  his  mind.  Now  we  will 
start  up  again  at  a  canter.  Lengthen  your 
reins,  but  remember  to  shorten  them  when  you 
want  to  trot." 

"Shall  I  tell  you  beforehand,  so  that  you  may 
have  time  to  make  your  horse  trot,  too  ? "  you 
ask. 

Esmeralda,  you  must  have  been  reading  one 
of  those  sweet  books  on  etiquette  which  advise 
the  horsewoman  to  be  considerate  of  her  com- 
panions. How  much  notice  do  you  think  your 
master    requires   to    "make   his   horse   trot"? 


54  IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL. 


You  will  blush  over  the  memory  of  that  ques- 
tion next  year,  although  now  you  feel  that  you 
have  been  very  ladylike,  even  very  Christian,  in 
putting  it,  for  have  you  not  shown  that  your 
temper  is  unruffled  and  that  you  are  thinking 
how  to  make  others  happy  ? 

Your  master  answers  that  his  horse  may  be 
trusted,  and  that  if  you  prefer  to  take  your  own 
time  to  change  from  the  canter  to  the  trot, 
rather  than  to  wait  for  him  to  say,  "  Now/'  you 
may  do  so.  And  then  the  canter  begins  again, 
and,  after  a  round  or  two,  you  try  the  mouth- 
sawing  process,  doing  it  very  well,  for  it  is  an 
ugly  little  trick  at  best,  rarely  found  necessary 
by  an  accomplished  rider,  and  beginners  seldom 
fail  to  succeed  in  it  at  the  very  first  attempt.  If 
it  were  pretty  and  graceful,  it  would  be  more 
difficult.  Down  to  the  trot  comes  the  obedient 
Charles,  and  up  you  go  one,  two,  three,  four !  and 
down  you  come,  until  you  really  expect  to  find 
yourself  and  the  saddle  in  the  tan  between  the 
two  halves  of  your  horse. 

Of  what  can  the  creature's  spinal  column 
be  made,  to  bear  such  a  succession  of  blows  J 
You   begin    by   pitying    the   horse,    but    after 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  55 

about  half  a  circuit,  you  think  that  human 
beings  have  their  little  troubles  also,  and  you 
feel  a  suspicion  of  sarcasm  in  your  master's 
gentle :  "  You  need  not  do  French  trot  any 
longer,  unless  you  like.  It  will  be  easier  for 
you  to  rise." 

You  give  a  frantic  hop  in  your  stirrup  at  the 
wrong  minute,  and  begin  a  series  of  jumps  in 
which  you  and  the  horse  rise  on  alternate  beats, 
by  which  means  your  saddle  receives  twice  as 
much  pounding  as  at  first,  and  then  you  have 
breath  enough  left  to  gasp  "  Stop,"  and  in  a 
second  you  are  walking  along  quietly,  and  your 
master  is  saying  in  a  matter-of-fact  way  :  "  You 
would  better  keep  your  left  heel  clown  all  the 
time,  and  turn  the  toe  toward  the  horse's  side 
and  keep  your  right  foot  and  leg  close  to  the 
saddle  below  the  knee ;  swing  yourself  up  and 
down  as  a  man  does ;  don't  drop  like  a  lump  of 
lead." 

"  Like  a  snowflake,"  you  murmur,  for  you 
fancy  that  you  have  a  pretty  wit  like  Will 
Honeycomb. 

"Not  at  all,"  says  your  master.  "The  snow- 
flake  comes  down  because  it  must,  and  comes  to 


56  IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL. 

stay.  You  come  because  you  choose,  and  come 
down  to  rise  again  instantly.  You  must  keep 
your  right  shoulder  back,  and  your  hands  on  a 
level  with  your  elbows,  and  you  must  turn  the 
corners,  not  let  your  horse  turn  them  as  he 
pleases  —  but  more  pupils  are  coming  now  and 
I  must  give  you  another  horse.  You  may  have 
Billy  Buttons."  The  change  is  effected,  the 
other  pupils  begin  their  lessons,  and  you  and 
Billy  walk  deliberately  about  in  the  centre  of 
the  ring. 

At  first  he  keeps  moderately  near  the  wall, 
but  after  a  time  you  find  that  the  circle  de- 
scribed by  his  footsteps  has  grown  smaller,  and 
that  he  apparently  fancies  himself  walking  around 
a  rather  small  tree.  Your  master  rides  up  as 
you  are  pulling  and  jerking  your  left  rein  in  the 
endeavor  to  come  nearer  to  the  wall,  and  says, 
"Try  Billy's  canter.  I'll  take  a  round  with 
you.  Strike  him  on  the  shoulder,  and  when 
you  want  him  to  trot,  shorten  your  reins  and 
touch  him  on  the  flank.  Those  are  the  signals 
which  he  minds  best.     Now  !  Canter." 

You  remember  of  having  heard  of  a  "canter 
like  a  rocking-chair."     Charlie  had  it,  but  you 


IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL.  57 

were  too  inexperienced  to  know  it,  but  bad 
riders  long  ago  deprived  Billy  of  any  likeness  to 
a  rocking-chair.  He  knows  that  if  he  should 
let  himself  go  freely,  you  would  come  near  to 
making  him  rear  by  pulling  on  the  reins,  and  so 
he  goes  along  ''one,  two,  three,  one,  two,  three," 
deliberately,  and  you  feel  and  look,  as  you  hear 
an  unsympathetic  gazer  in  the  gallery  remark, 
"like  a  pea  in  a  hot  skillet."  You  prided  your- 
self on  keeping  your  temper  unruffled  under 
the  wise  criticism  of  your  master,  but  in  truth 
you  did  not  really  believe  him.  You  said  to 
yourself  that  he  was  too  particular,  and  you 
even  thought  of  informing  him  that  he  must 
not  expect  perfection  immediately,  but  this 
piece  of  impudence,  spoken  by  a  person  who, 
for  aught  that  you  can  tell,  does  not  know  Billy 
from  a  clotheshorse,  convince's  you  instantly, 
and  you  decide  to  canter  no  more,  but  to  trot, 
and  so  you  "shorten  your  reins  and  strike  him 
on  the  flank." 

As  you  shorten  the  right  rein  more  than  the 
left,  and  as  your  whip  falls  as  lightly  as  if  you 
meant  the  blow  for  yourself,  Billy  goes  to  the 
centre  of  the  ring,  but  you  jerk  him  to  the  wall, 


58  m  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 

and  in  time,  trot  he  does.  But  your  left  foot 
swings  now  forward  and  now  outward,  and  you 
cannot  rise.  The  regular,  pulsating  count  by 
which  a  clever  girl  is  moving  like  a  machine, 
irritates  you,  and  you  tell  another  beginner, 
"They  really  ought  to  let  us  rise  on  the  alter- 
nate beats  at  first,  until  we  are  more  accustomed 
to  the  motion,"  and  she  agrees  with  you,  and 
both  of  you  try  this,  which  might  be  called  trot- 
ting on  the  American  pupil  plan,  but  even  the 
calm  Billy  manages  to  take  about  six  steps  be- 
tween what  you  regard  as  the  "alternate  beats," 
andat  last  breaks  into  a  canter,  and  you  hear  your- 
self ordered,  very  peremptorily,  to  "sit  down." 
You  obey,  but  begin  the  pea  in  the  skillet  per- 
formance again,  and  at  last  you  tell  your  master 
that  you  will  not  try  to  trot  any  more,  but 
would  like  to  know  all  about  managing  the 
reins. 

"And  then,"  you  say,  looking  as  wise  as  the 
three  Gothamites  of  the  nursery  song,  "even  if 
I  should  not  be  able  to  trot  long,  and  should 
fall  behind  my  friends  on  the  road,  I  shall  have 
perfect  control  of  my  horse,  and  can  walk  on 
until  they  miss  me  and  turn  back  for  me.     Will 


IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  50 


you  please  tell  me  all  the  ways  of  holding  the 
reins  r 

Your  master  does  not  laugh ;  the  joke  is  too 
venerable,  and  he  feels  awe-struck  as  he  hears 
it,  so  ancient  does  it  seem. 

"If  you  take  your  reins  in  one  hand,"  he 
says,  "  an  easy  way  is  to  hold  the  snaffle  on 
your  ring  finger,  and  the  left  curb  outside  the 
little  finger,  with  the  right  curb  between  the 
middle  and  fore  fingers.  Then,  when  you  want 
to  use  both  hands,  put  your  right  little  finger 
and  ring  finger  between  the  right  curb  and 
right  snaffle,  and  hold  your  hands  at  exactly  even 
distances  from  your  body,  and  at  exactly  even 
distances  from  your  horse's  head,  with  the  two 
reins  firmly  nipped  by  the  thumbs  resting  on 
the  top  of  the  fore-fingers.  This  is  the  way 
recommended  in  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica, 
in  Colonel  Dodge's  '  Patroclus  and  Penelope,' 
and  you  will  see  it  in  many  very  good  hunting 
pictures. 

"  Colonel  Anderson,  in  his  'On  Horseback,' 
recommends  dividing  the  curb  reins  by  the 
little  finger  of  the  left  hand  and  the  snaffle 
reins   by  the  middle  finger,  carrying  the  ends 


60  IX  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 


up  through  the  hand,  and  holding  them  by  the 
thumb.  Mr.  Mead,  in  his  'Horsemanship  for 
Women,'  mentions  this  hold,  but  prefers  taking 
the  curb  on  the  ring  finger,  and  the  snaffle  out- 
side the  little  finger,  and  between  the  forefinger 
and  middle  finger.  This  hold  is  used  in  the 
British  army,  and  it  is  convenient  in  school, 
because  if  it  be  desirable  to  drop  the  curb  in 
order  to  ride  with  the  snaffle  only,  you  can  do  it 
by  dropping  your  ring  finger,  and,  if  your  horse 
be  moderately  quiet,  can  knot  the  curb  rein  and 
let  it  lie  on  his  neck.  Besides,  it  makes  the 
snaffle  a  little  tighter  than  the  curb,  and  that  is 
held  to  be  a  good  thing  in  England.  An  Eng- 
lish soldier  is  prone  to  accuse  American  cavalry- 
men of  riding  too  much  on  the  curb,  and  by  the 
way,  I  have  heard  English  soldiers  assert  that 
they  were  taught  the  second  method,  but  it  was 
a  riding  master  formerly  in  the  Queen's  service 
who  told  me  that  the  third  was  preferred. 

"  M.  de  Bussigny,  in  his  little  '  Handbook  for 
Horsewomen,'  gives  the  preference  to  crossing 
the  reins,  the  curb  coming  outside  the  little 
finger  and  between  the  ring  and  middle  finger, 
and  the  snaffle  between  the  little  and  ring  fin- 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  61 

gers  and  the  middle  finger  and  forefinger.  I 
hold  my  own  in  that  way  when  training  a  horse, 
but  it  is  better  for  you  to  use  both  hands  on 
the  reins,  and  he  would  tell  you  so.  You  are 
more  likely  to  sit  square  ;  it  gives  you  twice 
the  hold,  and  then,  too,  you  know  where  your 
right  hand  is,  and  are  not  waving  it  about  in 
the  air,  or  devising  queer  ways  of  holding  your 
whip.  Now  your  hour  is  over,  and  I  will  take 
you  off  your  horse.  Wait  until  he  is  perfectly 
still,  and  the  groom  has  him  by  the  head.  Now 
drop  your  reins  ;  let  me  take  off  the  foot  straps ; 
take  your  foot  out  of  the  stirrup  ;  turn  in  the 
saddle  ;  put  one  hand  on  my  shoulder  and  one 
on  my  elbow,  and  slip  down  as  lightly  as  you 
can." 

You  glance  at  the  clock,  perceive  that  you 
have  been  in  the  saddle  almost  an  hour  and  a 
half,  and  murmur  an  apology.  "Don't  mind," 
is  the  encouraging  answer.  "  As  long  as  a 
pupil  does  not  complain  and  call  us  stingy  when 
we  make  her  dismount,  we  do  not  say  much. 
But  are  you  really  going  on  the  road,  Monday, 
Miss  Esmeralda?'  "Yes,  I  am,"  you  answer. 
"Ah,  well,"  he  says,  a  little  regretfully,  "don't 


62  IN  THE  BIDING- SCHOOL. 

forget,  then.  Hold  on  with  your  right  knee 
and  sit  down  for  the  canter." 

What  shall  you  do  by  way  of  exercise  before 
Monday  ?  Practise  all  the  old  movements,  a 
little  of  each  one  at  a  time,  and  take  two 
lengths  of  ribbon  as  wide  as  an  ordinary  rein, 
or,  better  still,  two  leather  straps,  and  fasten 
one  to  the  knobs  on  the  two  sides  of  a  door 
and  run  the  other  through  the  keyhole.  Call 
the  knob  straps  the  snaffle  reins,  and  the  key- 
hole straps  the  curb,  and,  sitting  near  enough 
to  let  them  lie  in  your  lap,  practise  picking  them 
up  and  adjusting  them  with  your  eyes  shut. 
When  you  can  do  it  quickly  and  neatly,  try  and 
see  with  how  little  exertion  you  can  sway  the 
door  to  left  and  right,  and  then  practise  holding 
these  dummy  reins  while  standing  on  one  foot 
and  executing  the  movement  used  in  trotting. 
If  the  door  move  by  a  hair's  breadth,  it  will 
show  you  that  you  are  pulling  too  much,  and 
you  must  remember  that  your  hold  on  your 
horse's  mouth  gives  you  greater  leverage  than 
you  have  on  the  door,  and  then,  perhaps,  you 
will  pity  the  poor  beast  a  little  now  and  then. 

What  is  that  ?     Your  master  treated  you  as 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  G3 

if  you  were  an  ignorant  girl  ?  So  you  are,  dear, 
and  even  if  you  were  not,  if  you  knew  all  that 
there  is  in  all  the  books,  you  might  still  be  a 
bad  horsewoman,  because  you  might  not  know 
enough  to  use  your  knowledge.  You  don't 
care,  and  you  feel  very  well,  and  are  very  glad 
that  you  went  ?  Of  course,  that  is  the  invaria- 
ble cry  !  And  you  mean  to  take  some  more 
lessons  if  you  find  that  you  really  need  them  ? 
Then  leave  your  skirt  in  the  dressing-room 
locker !  You  will  come  back  from  your  ride  a 
wiser,  but  not  a  sadder,  girl.  One  cannot  be 
sad  on  horseback. 


64  IN  THE  IilDIXG-SCHOOL. 


V. 

—  Pad,  pad,  pad  !  like  a  thing  that  was  mad, 
My  chestnut  broke  away. 

Thornbury. 

iSMERALDA  was  puzzled  when  she  re- 
turned from  her  first  riding  party. 
In  the  morning,  looking  very  pretty 
in  her  borrowed  riding  habit,  her 
English  hat  with  the  hunting  guard  made  ne- 
cessary by  the  Back  Bay  breezes,  her  brown 
gauntlets,  and  the  one  scarlet  carnation  in  her 
button-hole,  she  drove  to  the  riding-school, 
where  she  had  agreed  to  meet  Theodore  and 
her  other  friends,  not  like  Mrs.  Gilpin,  lest  all 
should  say  that  she  was  proud,  but  because  her 
master  had  promised  to  lend  her  one  of  the 
school  horses,  to  put  her  in  the  saddle  and  to 
adjust  her  stirrup,  and  because  she  secretly  felt 
that  she  would  better  give  herself  every  possi- 
ble advantage  in  what,  as  it  came  nearer,  assumed 
the  aspect  of  a  trial  rather  than  a  pleasure. 
Beholding    Ronald,  the    promised    horse,   se- 


m  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  65 

verely  correct  in  his  road  saddle,  and  looking 
immensely  tall  as  he  stood  on  the  stable  floor, 
she  inly  applauded  her  own  wisdom,  strongly 
doubting  that  Theodore's  unpractised  arm  would 
have  tossed  her  into  her  place  as  lightly  as  the 
master's,  and  she  was  secretly  overjoyed  when 
the  master  himself  mounted  and  joined  the 
party  with  her,  making  its  number  nine  ;  Es- 
meralda herself,  the  graduate  of  three  lessons  ; 
Theodore,  all  his  life  accustomed  to  ride  any- 
thing calling  itself  a  horse,  but  making  no  pre- 
tensions to  mastery  of  the  equestrian  science  ; 
the  lawyer,  understood,  on  his  own  authority, 
to  be  well  informed  in  everything  ;  the  society 
young  lady,  erect,  precise,  self-satisfied ;  the 
Texan,  riding  with  apparent  laziness,  his  hands 
rather  high  and  seldom  quiet,  but  not  to  be 
shaken  from  his  seat  ;  the  beauty,  languid  and 
secretly  discontented  because  her  horse  was  "  in- 
tended for  a  brunette,  and  a  ridiculous  mount 
for  a  blonde  "  ;  Versatilia,  who  had  "  taken  up 
riding  a  little,"  and  the  cavalryman,  calm,  quiet, 
and  fraternally  regarded  by  the  master,  as  he 
reviewed  the  little  flock  from  the  back  of  a 
horse  which  had  been  offered  to  him  as  the  para- 


66  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 

gon  of  its  species,  and  for  which  and  its  kind, 
as  he  announced  after  riding  a  square  or  two, 
he  "  was  not  paying  a  cent  a  carload." 

"  It  is  a  lovely  horse,"  said  the  beauty.  "  It 
is  such  a  beautiful  color.  But  men  never  care 
for  color." 

"  Good  color  is  a  good  thing,  undoubtedly," 
said  the  master,  "  but  a  beautiful  horse  is  a 
good  horse,  not  necessarily  an  animal  which 
would  look  well  in  a  painted  landscape,  because 
its  color  would  harmonize  with  the  hue  of  the 
trees." 

"  She  is  a  beautiful  girl,  isn't  she,"  said  Es- 
meralda, looking  admiringly  at  the  beauty,  who, 
having  just  remembered  Tennyson's  line  about 
swaying  the  rein  with  flying  finger  tips,  was  ex- 
ecuting some  movements  which  made  her  horse 
raise  his  ears  to  listen  for  the  cause  of  such 
conduct,  and  then  shake  his  head  in  mild  disap- 
proval. 

"  What  do  I  care  for  a  pretty  girl  ? "  de- 
manded the  master.  "  Pretty  rider  is  what  I 
want  to  see,  and  '  pretty  rider  '  is  '  good  rider.' 
Wait  until  that  girl  trots  three  minutes  or  so, 
and  see  whether  or  not  she  is  pretty." 


7iV  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  67 

The  party  went  through  the  streets  at  a  rapid 
walk,  now  and  then  meeting  a  horse-car,  now 
and  then  a  stray  wagon,  but  invariably  allowed 
to  take  its  own  way,  with  very  little  regard  for 
the  rule  of  the  road.  The  American  who  drives, 
whatever  may  be  his  social  station,  admires  the 
courage  of  the  woman  who  rides,  but  he  is 
firmly  convinced  that  she  does  not  understand 
horses,  and  gives  her  all  the  space  available 
wherein  to  disport  herself. 

"  Are  we  right  in  placing  the  ladies  on  the 
left  ? "  asked  Theodore,  turning  to  the  master. 

"  Of  course,"  cried  the  lawyer.  "  We  follow 
the  English  rule,  and  the  left  was  the  place  of 
safety  for  the  lady  in  the  days  when  English 
equestrianism  was  born.  Travelers  took  the 
left  of  the  road,  and  this  placed  the  cavalier  be- 
tween his  lady  and  any  possible  danger." 

"  And  in  the  United  States  they  take  the 
right,  and  she  is  between  him  and  any  possible 
danger,"  said  the  master.  "  It  is  the  custom, 
but  it  seems  illogical  and  foolish.  True,  it  re- 
moves any  danger  that  the  lady  may  be  crushed 
between  her  own  horse  and  her  escort's,  but 
who  protects  her  from  any  passing  car  or  car- 


68  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

riage,  and  in  case  of  a  runaway  what  can  her 
escort,  his  left  hand  occupied  with  his  own 
reins,  do  to  aid  her  with  hers,  or  to  disentangle 
her  foot  from  the  stirrup  or  her  habit  from  the 
pommels  in  case  she  is  thrown  ?  Can  he  snatch 
her  from  the  saddle,  after  the  manner  of  one  of 
Joaquin  Miller's  young  men  ?  The  truth  is 
that  since  the  rule  of  the  road  is  'keep  to  the 
right,'  the  rule  of  the  saddle  should  be  '  sit  on 
the  right,'  but  with  a  lady  on  his  bridle  hand 
the  horseman  could  not  be  at  his  best  as  an  es- 
cort, even  then. 

"  It  is  one  of  the  many  little  absurdities  in 
American  customs ;  the  old  story  of  the  sur- 
vival of  the  two  buttons  on  the  back  of  the 
coat,  and,  by  the  way,  Miss  Esmeralda,  the  two 
buttons  on  the  back  of  your  habit  are  out  of 
place,  not  because  of  your  tailor's  fault,  but 
because  of  yours.  They  should  make  a  line  at 
right  angles  with  your  horse's  spinal  column. 
Draw  yourself  back  a  little,  until  you  can  feel 
the  pommel  under  your  right  knee.  'Draw' 
yourself  back ;  don't  lean,  but  keep  yourself 
perfectly  erect,  your  back  perpendicular  to  your 
horse's.     Sit  a  little  to  the  left  ;  lean  a  little  to 


IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL.  69 

the  right.  Let  your  left  shoulder  go  forward  a 
little,  your  right  shoulder  backward.  Now  you 
are  exactly  right.  Try  to  remember  your  sen- 
sations at  this  minute,  in  order  to  be  able  to 
reproduce  them.  When  I  say  4  Careful,'  pass 
yourself  in  review  and  endeavor  to  feel  where 
you  are  wrong.  But,"  addressing  the  cavalry- 
man, who  was  in  advance  with  Versatilia,  "  is 
this  procession  a  funeral  ?" 

"Not  exactly,"  said  the  cavalryman,  and 
then,  after  a  backward  glance,  he  cried,  in  the 
fashion  of  a  military  riding-school  master : 
"  Pr-r-re-pare  to  tr-r-r-ot  —  Trot !  " 

Esmeralda  remembered  to  shorten  her  reins, 
and  resigned  herself  to  the  Fates,  who  were  pro- 
pitious, enabling  her  to  catch  the  cadence  of 
the  trot,  and  to  rise  to  it  during  the  few  seconds 
before  the  cavalryman  slackened  rein.  "Care- 
ful," said  the  master,  and  she  shook  herself  into 
place,  eliciting  a  hearty  "  Good  ! "  from  him. 
"  Look  at  your  pretty  girl,"  he  growled  softly, 
but  savagely,  and  truly  the  beauty  solicited 
attention.  Slipping  to  the  left  in  her  saddle, 
one  elbow  pointing  toward  Cambridgeport  and 
the  other  toward  Dorchester,  her  right  foot  vis- 


70  IN  THE  RIDING- SCHOOL. 

ible  through  her  habit,  and  her  left  all  but  out 
of  the  stirrup,  she  was  attractive  no  longer,  and 
to  complete  the  master's  disgust  she  ejaculated  : 
"My  hair  is  coming  down  !  " 

"Better  bring  a  nurse  and  a  ladies'  maid  for 
her,"  he  muttered  to  Esmeralda,  confidentially. 
"  Hairpins  in  your  saddle  pocket  ?  Well,  you 
are  a  sensible  girl,"  and  he  rode  forward  with 
the  little  packet,  giving  it  to  the  lawyer  to  pass 
to  the  unfortunate  young  woman.  But  here 
arose  a  little  difficulty.  The  space  between  the 
lawyer's  horse  and  the  beauty's  as  they  stood 
was  too  wide  to  allow  him  to  lay  the  parcel  in 
her  outstretched  fingers.  The  Texan,  on  her 
right  hand,  had  enough  to  do  to  keep  her  horse 
and  his  own  absolutely  motionless  that  she 
might  not  be  thrown  by  any  unexpected  motion 
of  either  animal.  Versatilia  exclaimed  in  re- 
monstrance, "  Don't  leave  me,"  when  the  caval- 
ryman said,  "Wait  a  second  ;  I'll  come  and  give 
them  to  her  ;"  the  master  sat  quiet  and  smiling. 

"Why  don't  you  dismount  and  give  them  to 
her?  "  cried  Theodore,  and  was  out  of  his  saddle, 
had  placed  the  parcel  in  her  hand,  and  was  back 
in  his  place  again  before  either  of  the  other  three 
•men  could  speak. 


m  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  71 

"Very  well  done,"  said  the  master,  approv- 
ingly, "but  not  the  right  thing  to  do.  Never 
leave  your  saddle  without  good  cause,  and  never 
leave  your  horse  loose  for  a  moment.  Yes,  I  saw 
that  you  retained  your  hold  of  the  reins  ;  I  was 
talking  at  Miss  Esmeralda." 

"  Why  didn't  you  make  your  horse  step  side- 
wise  ? "  he  asked  the  lawyer. 

"  I  can't.     He  won't.     See  there  !  " 

Sundry  pulls,  precisely  like  those  which  he 
might  have  used  had  he  intended  the  horse  to 
turn,  a  pair  of  absolutely  motionless  legs,  and 
an  unused  whip  were  accepted  as  evidence  that 
the  lawyer's  "I  can't"  was  perfectly  true,  and 
the  master  and  the  cavalryman  exchanged  com- 
prehending glances  as  the  latter  said  :  "Well, 
don't  mind.  An  eminent  authority  announced 
after  the  Boston  horse  show  of  1889  that  high- 
school  airs  were  of  no  use  on  the  road.  To 
make  a  horse  move  a  step  sidewise  is  the  veriest 
little  zephyr  of  an  air,  but  it  would  have  been 
of  some  use  to  you,  then.  Are  we  ready  now  ? 
What's  that  ?     Dropped  your  whip  ?  " 

Up  went  the  Texan's  left  heel,  catching 
cleverly  on  the  saddle  as  he  dropped  lightly  to 


72  W  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 


the  right,  after  the  fashion  of  the  Arab,  the 
Moor,  the  Apache,  of  all  the  nations  which  ride 
for  speed  and  for  fighting  rather  than  for  leap- 
ing and  hunting,  and  he  caught  the  whip  from 
the  ground  and  was  back  in  his  place  in  a 
twinkling.  The  ladies  were  unmoved,  because 
inappreciative ;  the  lawyer  looked  savagely  en- 
vious, the  cavalryman  and  the  master  approving,- 
and  Theodore,  frankly  admiring,  but  no  one  said 
anything,  the  little  cavalcade  rearranged  itself, 
and  once  more  moved  on  at  a  footpace  until  an 
electric  car  appeared. 

"Ronald  is  like  a  rock,"  said  the  master,  "and 
you  need  not  be  afraid,  but  I'll  take  this  beast 
along  in  advance.  He  will  shy,  or  do  some  out- 
rageous thing,  and  he  has  a  mouth  as  sensitive 
as  the  Mississippi's,  and  no  more." 

The  "  beast  "  did  indeed  sidle  and  fret  and 
prance,  and  manifest  a  disposition  to  hasten  to 
drown  himself  in  the  reservoir,  beyond  the  reach 
of  self-propelling  vehicles,  and  he  repeated  the 
performance  at  the  sight  of  two  other  cars, 
although  evidently  less  alarmed  than  at  first, 
but  the  fourth  car  was  in  charge  of  a  kindly- 
disposed  driver,  who  came  to  a  dead  stop,  out 
of  pure  amiability. 


IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL.  73 


This  was  too  much  for  the  " beast"  to  en- 
dure ;  a  moving  house  he  was  beginning  to 
regard  as  tolerable,  but  a  house  which  stopped 
short  and  glared  at  him  with  all  its  windows 
was  more  than  horse  nature  could  endure,  and 
he  started  for  the  next  county  to  institute  an 
inquiry  as  to  whether  such  actions  were  to  be 
allowed,  but  found  himself  forced  to  stop,  and 
not  altogether  comfortable,  while  the  master 
cried  good-naturedly  :  "  Go  along  and  take  care 
of  your  car.     I'll  take  care  of  my  horse!  " 

"  More  than  some  other  folks  can  do,"  said 
the  driver,  with  a  quiet  grin  at  the  lawyer,  whose 
angry,  "  Here,  what  are  you  doing  ! '  shouted  to 
his  plunging  steed,  had  brought  all  the  women 
in  the  car  to  the  front,  to  explain  to  one  another 
that  "that  man  was  abusing  his  horse,  poor 
thing." 

The  car  glided  off,  and  Versatilia  turned  to 
look  at  it;  her  horse  stumbled  slightly,  jerking 
her  wrists  sharply,  and  but  for  the  cavalryman's 
quick  shifting  of  the  reins  to  his  right  hand  and 
his  strong  grasp  of  her  reins  with  his  left,  she 
might  have  been  in  danger. 

11  Never    look   back,"   lectured    the    master. 


74  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

Esmeralda  was  his  pupil,  and  he  would  have 
taken  the  whole  centennial  quadrille  and  all  the 
cabinet  ladies  to  point  his  moral,  had  he  seen 
them  making  equestrian  blunders.  "Where 
your  horse  has  been,  where  he  is,  is  the  past. 
Look  to  the  future,  straight  before  you." 

"  The  cavalryman  looked  back  just  now," 
Esmeralda  ventured  to  say. 

"  Yes,  but  he  turned  his  horse  very  slightly 
to  do  it,  and  he  may  do  almost  anything,  because 
he  has  a  perfect  seat,  and  is  a  good  horseman." 

"  Suppose  I  hear  something  or  somebody 
coming  up  behind  me  ? " 

"  If  it  have  any  intelligence,  it  will  not  hurt 
you.  If  it  have  none,  looking  will  do  you  no 
good.  Turn  out  to  the  right  as  far  as  you 
can  and  look  to  the  front  harder  than  ever,  so 
as  to  be  ready  to  guide  your  horse  and  to 
avoid  any  obstacles  in  case  he  should  start 
to  run.  What  is  the  trouble  with  the  ladies, 
now? " 

"O,  dear!"  cried  the  beauty  to  the  society 
young  lady,  "your  horse." 

"  What's  the  matter  with  him  ? "  asked  the 
other,  still  very  stately  and  not  turning. 


AY  THE  BIDIXG-SCHOOL. 


"  Oh !  the  dreadful  creature  has  caught  his 
tail  on  my  horse's  bit,"  said  the  beauty. 

"Then  you'd  better  take  your  horse's  bit 
away,"  retorted  the  other.  "  My  horse's  eyes 
are  not  at  that  end  of  him,  and  he  can't  be 
expected  to  look  at  his  tail." 

"  And  you  may  be  kicked,"  added  the  Texan. 
"  Check  him  a  little  ;  there  !  We  ought  not  to 
be  so  close  together,  and  we  ought  to  be  moving 
a  little,  I  think.     Shall  we  trot  again  ?  " 

Everybody  assented,  the  cavalryman  and  Ver- 
satilia  set  off,  the  others  followed  as  best  they 
might,  the  beauty  "  going  to  pieces  "  in  a  minute 
or  two,  according  to  the  master,the  society  young 
lady  stiffening  visibly,  losing  the  cadence  of  the 
trot  very  soon,  but  making  no  outcry  as  she  was 
tossed  about  uncomfortably,  and  not  bending 
her  head  to  look  at  her  reins,  as  Versatilia  did. 

"There's  the  advantage  of  training  in  other 
things,"  said  the  master.  "  She's  a  good  dancer 
and  a  good  amateur  actress,  and  she  is  control- 
ling herself  as  she  would  on  a  ballroom  floor, 
and  remembering  the  spectators  as  she  would 
on  the  stage.  She's  no  rider,  but  is  perfectly 
selfish  and  self-possessed,  and  she  will  cheat  her 


76  IN  THE  BIDING- SCHOOL. 

escort  into  thinking  that  she  is  one.  Glad  she's 
no  pupil  of  mine,  however  !  She  always  leads 
the  conversation,  one  of  her  friends  told  me  the 
other  day.  That  is  to  say,  she  is  always  acting.  I 
can't  teach  such  a  person  anything  ;  nobody  can. 
She  can  teach  herself,  as  she  can  think  of  her- 
self and  love  herself,  but  she  can't  go  outside  of 
herself  —  and  the  lawyer  will  find  it  out  after  he 
has  married  her." 

Esmeralda  and  Theodore  stared  in  astonish- 
ment. 

"  Walk,"  said  the  master,  noticing  that  his 
pupil  looked  too  warm  for  comfort,  and  the 
three  allowed  the  others  to  go  on  without  them. 
"Careful,"  he  added,  and  Esmeralda,  adjusting 
herself  studiously,  asked:  "Is  it  really  easier 
to  ride  on  the  road  than  it  is  in  the  school  ?     It 


seems  so." 


"  It  is  a  little,  especially  if  the  corners  of  the 
ring  are  so  near  together  that  the  horse  goes  in 
a  circle,  for  then  the  rider  has  to  lean  to  the 
right,  while  on  the  road  she  may  sit  straight. 
Give  me  the  right  kind  of  a  horse  for  my  pupil 
to  ride,  and  I  would  as  lief  give  lessons  on  the 
road  as  anywhere,  but  it  is  not  so  well  for  the 


IN  THE  BIDWG-SCHOOL.  77 

pupil,  whose  attention  is  distracted  by  a  thousand 
things,  and  who  learns  less  in  a  year  than  she 
would  in  a  month  in  school.  There  is  no  finish 
about  the  riding  of  a  woman  so  taught.  She 
may  be  pretty,  as  you  said  of  one  of  your  friends, 
she  may  be  self-possessed,  like  the  other,  but 
she  will  betray  her  ignorance  every  moment. 
You  were  surprised  just  now  at  what  I  said  of 
the  society  young  lady.  A  woman  can't  cheat 
an  old  riding-master,  after  he  has  seen  her  in 
the  saddle.  He  knows  her  and  her  little  ways 
by  heart.     Shall  we  start  up  ?     Ah  !" 

Ronald,  the  "steady  as  a  rock,"  was  off  and 
away  at  a  canter ;  Theodore  was  starting  to 
gallop  in  pursuit,  but  was  sharply  ordered  back 
by  the  master,  who  went  on  himself  at  a  rather 
slow  canter,  ready  to  break  into  a  gallop  if  his 
pupil  were  thrown,  but  keeping  out  of  Ronald's 
hearing,  lest  he  should  be  further  startled  by 
finding  himself  followed.  There  was  a  clear 
stretch  of  road  before  her,  and  Esmeralda  sat 
down  as  firmly  as  possible,  brought  her  left  knee 
up  against  the  pommel,  clung  firmly  with  her 
right  knee,  held  her  hands  low  and  her  thumbs 
as  firm  as  possible,  and  thought  very  hard. 


78  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 

"  Very  soon,"  she  said  to  herself,  "I  shall  be 
thrown  and  dragged,  and  what  a  figure  I  shall 
be  going  home,  if  I'm  not  killed  !  But  I  sha'n't 
be !  I  shall  be  ridiculous,  and  that's  worse." 
Here  she  swept  by  the  riding  party,  but  as  Ver- 
satilia  and  the  beauty  turned  to  look  at  her,  and 
forgot  to  control  their  horses,  the  cavalryman 
and  the  Texan  had  to  do  it  for  them,  and  could  do 
nothing  for  Esmeralda  except  to  shout  "  Whoa," 
which  Ronald  very  properly  disregarded.  The 
master  came  up,  and  the  society  young  lady 
addressed  him  with,  "  Very  silly  of  her  to  try  to 
exhibit  herself  so,  isn't  it  ? " 

"  That's  no  exhibition  ;  that's  a  runaway," 
said  the  master  grimly.  "  She's  doing  well  too, 
poor  girl,"  and  he  and  Theodore  went  on  after 
the  flying  rider. 

Two  or  three  carriages,  the  riders  staring  with 
horror  ;  a  pedestrian  or  two,  innocently  wonder- 
ing why  a  lady  should  be  on  the  road  alone  ;  a 
small  boy  whistling  shrilly  ;  these  were  all  the 
spectators  of  Esmeralda's  flight.  She  felt  deso- 
late and  deserted,  and  yet  sure  that  it  was  best 
that  she  should  be  alone,  since  the  master  could 
overtake  her  if  he  would,  and  she  wondered  if 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  79 

she  should  be  very  seriously  injured  when  thrown 
at  last,  but  all  the  time  she  was  talking  to  Ronald 
in  a  voice  carefully  kept  at  a  low  pitch,  and  her 
hands  were  held  with  a  steadiness  utterly  new 
to  them,  and  the  good  horse  went  on  regularly, 
but  faster  and  faster. 

"  That  isn't  a  real  runaway,"  said  the  master 
to  himself.  "  Ah,  I  see  !  her  whip  is  down  and 
strikes  him  at  every  stride,  and  so  she  uncon- 
sciously urges  him  forward.  If  there  were  a 
side  road  here,  I'd  gallop  around  and  meet  her, 
or  if  there  were  fields  on  either  side,  I'd  leap 
the  fence  and  make  a  circuit  and  cut  her  off, 
but  through  this  place,  with  banks  like  a  rail- 
way cutting  on  each  side,  there  is  nothing  to 
do." 

Swifter  and  swifter !  Esmeralda  began  to  feel 
weaker,  thought  of  Theodore,  and  of  some  other 
things  of  which  she  never  told  even  him,  said  a 
little  prayer,  but  all  the  time  remembered  her 
master's  injunctions,  and  kept  her  place  firmly, 
waiting  for  the  final,  and,  as  she  believed,  inevi- 
table crash,  when  lo  !  she  saw  that  just  in  front 
of  her  lay  a  long  piece  of  half-mended  road,  full 
of  ugly  little  stones,  and  she  turned  Ronald  on 


80  IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL. 

it,  with  a  triumphant,  "  See  how  you  like  that, 
sir,"  and  then  sawed  his  mouth.  In  half  a  minute 
he  was  walking.  In  another  the  master  was 
beside  her  with  words  of  approval.  Theodore 
galloped  up,  pale  and  anxious,  and  between 
the  two  she  had  quite  as  much  praise  as  was  good 
for  her,  and,  being  told  of  the  position  of  the 
whip,  found  her  confidence  in  Ronald  restored. 

"But  you  should  never  start  up  hastily,"  said 
the  master.  "  Take  time  for  everything,  and 
check  your  horse  the  instant  he  goes  faster 
than  you  mean  to  have  him.  You  are  a  good 
girl,  and  you  shall  not  be  scolded,  or  snubbed, 
either,"  he  muttered,  as  the  party  came  up,  the 
cavalryman  and  the  Texan  loud  in  praise,  the 
other  four  clamorous  with  questions  and  advice. 

"  You  look  quite  dishevelled,"  said  the  society 
young  lady  agreeably. 

"Ladies  often  do  after  they  have  been  on  the 
road  a  little  while.  Excuse  me,  but  one  of  your 
skirt  buttons  is  unfastened,"  said  the  master, 
and,  not  knowing  how  to  pass  her  reins  into  her 
right  hand  so  as  to  use  her  left  to  repair  the 
accident,  the  society  young  lady  was  effectually 
silenced,  while  the  master,  holding  Esmeralda's 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  81 

horse,  made  her  wipe  her  face,  arrange  the  curly 
locks  flying  about  her  ears,  readjust  her  hat,  and 
generally  smooth  her  plumage,  until  she  was  once 
more  comfortable. 

After  a  little,  the  master  proposed  a  trot  up 
the  hill,  and  instructed  Esmeralda  to  lean  for- 
ward as  her  horse  climbed  upward,  "  If  you 
should  have  to  trot  down  hill,  lean  back  a  little, 
and  keep  your  reins  short,"  he  said. 

The  lawyer  and  the  society  young  lady,  essay- 
ing to  descend  the  next  hill  brilliantly,  barely 
escaped  going  over  their  horses'  heads,  and  all 
four  ladies  were  glad  when  they  perceived  that 
they  were  going  homeward. 

"  I  like  it,"  Esmeralda  said  to  the  master, 
"but  I  wish  I  knew  more,  and  I'm  going  to 
learn,  and  I  see  now  that  three  lessons  isn't 
enough,  even  for  a  beginning." 

"  I  know  a  girl  who  took  seventeen  lessons 
and  then  was  thrown,"  said  the  society  young 
lady.  "  Native  ability  is  better  than  teaching. 
I  don't  believe  any  master  could  make  a  rider 
of  you,  Esmeralda." 

"  A  good  teacher  can  make  a  rider  of  any  one 
who  will  study,"  said  the  master,  to  whom  she 


82  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 

looked  for  approval.  "  As  for  seventeen  lessons, 
they  are  better  than  seven,  of  course,  but  they 
are  not  much,  after  all.  How  many  dancing 
lessons,  music  lessons,  elocution  lessons  have 
you  taken  ?  More  than  seventeen  ?  I  thought 
so.  Here's  a  railroad  bridge,  but  no  train  com- 
ing. Had  one  been  approaching,  and  had  there 
been  no  chance  to  cross  before  it  came,  I  should 
have  made  you  turn  Ronald  the  other  way,  Miss 
Esmeralda,  so  that  if  he  ran  he  would  run  out 
of  what  he  thinks  is  danger,  and  not  into  it. 
And  now  for  an  easy  little  trot  home." 

An  easy  little  trot  it  was,  and  Esmeralda,  left 
at  her  own  door,  where  a  groom  waited  to  take 
her  horse  to  the  stable,  was  happy,  but  puzzled. 
"  Theodore,"  she  cried,  as  soon  as  he  appeared 
in  the  evening,  "did  you  ask  the  master  to  go 
with  us  ?  He  treated  me  just  as  he  does  in 
school." 

"  Yes,  I  did,"  said  Theodore  boldly.  "  I  was 
afraid  to  take  charge  of  you  alone.  That  was 
a  'road  lesson.'  " 

"  You  —  you  —  exasperating  thing  !  "  cried 
Esmeralda.     "But  then,  you  were  sensible." 

"That's  tautology,"  said  Theodore. 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  83 


VI. 


A  solitary  horseman  might  have  been  seen. 

G.  P.  R.James. 

ND  so  you  are  feeling  very  meek  after 
your  road  lesson  and  your  runaway, 
Esmeralda,  and  are  a  perfect  Uriah 
Heep  for  'umbleness,  and  are,  hence- 
forth and  forever,  going  to  believe  every  sylla- 
ble that  your  master  utters,  and  to  obey  every 
command  the  instant  that  it  is  given,  and  — 
there,  that  will  do  !  And  you  are  going  to  take 
one  private  lesson  so  as  to  learn  a  few  little 
things  before  you  display  your  progress  before 
any  other  pupils  again  ?  One  private  lesson  ! 
Did  your  master  advise  it  ?  N-no,  but  he  con- 
sented to  give  it,  when  you  had  persuaded  him 
that  it  would  be  best  for  you  ?  When  you  had 
persuaded  him  ?  Behold  the  American  pupil's 
definition  of  obedience  :  to  follow  commands 
dictated  by  herself  !  However,  there  is  no  use 
in  trying  to  eradicate  the  ideas  bequeathed  and 


84  IJY  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

fostered  by  a  hundred  years  of  national  self- 
government,  so  go  to  the  school  at  the  hour 
appointed  by  your  master,  an  hour  when  no 
other  pupils  are  expected. 

The  horses  pace  very  solemnly  around  the 
great  ring,  and  you  adjust  yourself  with  won- 
derful dignity,  feeling  that  your  master  must 
perceive  by  your  improved  carriage  and  by  the 
general  perfection  of  your  aspect  that  your  ex- 
quisite timidity  and  charming  shyness  have 
been  responsible  for  your  awkwardness  in 
former  lessons,  when  other  pupils  were  pres- 
ent, but  now  he  leaves  your  side  and  takes  a 
position  in  the  centre  of  the  ring,  whence  he 
addresses  you  thus  : 

"  Keep  your  reins  even  !  The  right  ones  are 
too  short,  the  left  too  long  !  Stop  him  !  That 
is  not  stopping  him  !  He  took  two  steps  for- 
ward after  he  checked  himself.  Go  forward, 
and  try  again  when  I  tell  you.  Stop  !  Not  so 
hard,  not  so  hard  !  You  are  making  him  back  ! 
Extend  your  arms  forward  !  There !  A  little 
more,  and  you  would  have  made  him  rear ! 
Whoa  !  Wo-ho  !  Now  listen  !  Not  so  !  Don't 
drop   your  reins  in  that  way,  and  sit  so  care- 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  85 

lessly  that  a  start  would  throw  you  from  your 
place !  Never  leave  your  horse  to  himself  a 
second  !  Sit  as  well  as  you  can,  look  between 
your  horse's  ears  and  listen  !  Always  use  some 
discretion  in  choosing  your  place  to  stop.  Do 
not  try  to  stop  when  turning  a  corner,  even  to 
avoid  a  danger,  but  rather  change  your  direc- 
tion. In  the  ring,  never  stop  on  the  track,  un- 
less in  obedience  to  your  master's  order,  but 
turn  out  into  the  centre,  but  when  you  have 
once  told  your  horse  to  stop,  make  him  do  it, 
for  his  sake,  as  well  as  for  your  own,  if  you  have 
to  spend  an  hour  in  the  effort.  And  it  will  be 
an  hour  well  spent,  so  that  you  need  not  lose 
patience,  and  if  you  do  lose  it,  do  not  allow 
your  horse  to  perceive  it. 

"To  stop,  you  should  press  your  leg  and  your 
whip  against  your  horse's  sides  ;  lift  your  hands 
a  very  little,  and  turn  them  in  toward  your  body, 
lean  back  and  draw  yourself  up.  There  are  six 
things  to  do  :  two  to  your  horse,  one  on  each 
side  of  him,  two  with  your  hands  and  two  with 
your  body,  and  you  must  do  them  almost  simul- 
taneously. Unless  you  do  the  first  two,  your 
horse  will   surely  take  a  forward   step  or  two 


86  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

after  stopping,  in  order  to  bring  himself  into  a 
comfortable  position.  If  you  do  not  cease  do- 
ing the  last  four  the  moment  that  your  horse 
has  stopped,  he  may  rear  or  he  may  back  sev- 
eral steps,  and  he  should  never  do  that,  but 
should  await  an  order  for  each  step.  Now,  do 
you  remember  the  six  things  ?  Very  well !  Go 
forward  !  Stop  !  Did  I  tell  you  to  do  anything 
with  your  arms  ?  No  ?  Well,  why  did  you 
bring  your  elbows  back  of  your  waist,  then  ? 
It  is  allowable  to  do  that — to  save  your  life, 
but  not  to  stop  your  horse.  Bend  your  hands 
at  the  wrist,  turning  the  knuckles,  if  need  be, 
until  they  are  at  right  angles  with  their  ordinary 
position,  so  that  the  back  of  your  hand  is  toward 
your  horse's  ears,  but  keep  the  thumb  upper- 
most all  the  time. 

"  Now,  think  it  over  a  moment !  Go  forward  ! 
Stop  !  Pretty  well  !  Go  on  !  Don't  lean  for- 
ward too  much  when  you  start,  and  sit  up  again 
instantly. 

"  Now  walk  around  the  school  once,  and  go 
into  all  the  corners.  Stop  !  You  stopped  pretty 
well,  but  you  leaned  back  too  far,  and  you  did 
not  draw  yourself  up  at  all.     Mind,  you  draw 


m  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  87 

'  yourself  '  up  ;  you  don't  try  to  pull  the  bit  up 
through  the  corners  of  your  horse's  mouth. 
What  I  wanted  to  say  was  that  a  turn  is  just 
half  a  stop  as  far  as  your  hands,  leg  and  whip 
are  concerned.  To  turn  to  the  right,  use  your 
right  hand  and  whip,  but  keep  your  left  leg  and 
hand  steady  ;  to  turn  to  the  left,  use  your  left 
leg  and  hand  and  keep  your  whip  and  whip 
hand  steady.  When  you  turn  to  the  right, 
lean  to  the  right  instead  of  backward  ;  '  lean/ 
not  twist  to  the  right,  and  turn  your  head  to  the 
right  so  as  to  see  what  may  be  there. 

"  If  you  were  on  the  road,  and  did  not  turn 
your  head  before  going  down  a  side  street,  you 
might  knock  over  a  bicycle  rider,  and  thereby 
hurt  your  horse,  which  would  be  a  pity,"  he 
says,  with  apparent  indifference  as  to  the  bicy- 
cle rider's  possible  injuries.  "  Now  go  around 
the  school  again.  Left  shoulder  forward ! 
•Right  shoulder  back  !  Sit  to  the  right !  Lean 
to  the  left !  I  told  you  to  sit  to  the  left,  the 
other  day  ?  And  that  is  the  reason  that  I  have 
to  tell  you  to  sit  to  the  right  to-day.  You  over- 
do it.  Miss  Esmeralda,  if  I  were  talking  for  my 
own  pleasure,  I  should  say  pretty  things  to  you, 


88  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 

but  I  am  talking  to  teach  you,  and  when  I  say 
'  This  is  wrong  !  This  is  wrong  ! '  and  again 
'  This  is  wrong ! '  I  do  it  for  you,  not  for  my- 
self. When  your  father  and  mother  say  '  This 
is  wrong  ;  you  must  not  do  it,  or  you  will  be 
sorry,'  you  do  not  look  at  them  as  if  you 
thought  them  unreasonable  — or,  I  trust  that 
you  do  not,"  he  adds,  mentally.  "  Heaven 
only  knows  what  an  American  girl  may  do 
when  anybody  says,  '  You  must  not '  to  her. 

"Now,"  he  goes  on  aloud,  "it  is  the  same 
with  your  teacher;  he  says  'You  are  wrong,' 
lest  you  should  be  sorry  by  and  by,  and  he  is 
patient  and  says  it  many  times,  as  your  father 
and  mother  do,  and  he  says  it  every  time  that 
you  do  anything  wrong,  unless  you  do  so  many 
wrong  things  at  once  that  he  cannot  speak  of 
each  one.  Now  you  shall  turn  to  the  right, 
and  remember  that  a  turn  is  half  a  stop.  Go 
across  the  school  and  then  turn  to  the  left ! 
Keep  a  firm  hold  on  your  right  rein  now  so  as 
to  keep  your  horse  close  to  the  wall.  Where, 
where  are  your  toes  ?  It  was  not  necessary  to 
make  you  turn  so  as  to  see  your  right  foot 
through   your   riding   habit    as  I  can   now,  to 


IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL.  89 

know  that  they  were  pointing  outward.  Your 
right  shoulder  told  the  story  by  drooping  for- 
ward. M.  de  Bussigny  lays  especial  stress  on 
this  point  in  his  manual,  and  you  will  find  that 
your  whole  position  depends  more  on  that  seem- 
ingly unimportant  right  foot  than  on  many 
other  things,  so  bend  your  will  to  holding  it 
properly,  close  against  the  saddle.  Walk  on 
now,  keeping  on  a  straight  line.  If  you  cannot 
do  it  in  the  school,  you  cannot  on  the  road,  and 
many  an  ugly  scrape  against  walls,  horse-cars 
and  other  horses  you  will  receive  unless  you 
can  keep  to  the  right  and  in  a  straight  line. 
Now  turn  to  the  left,  and  go  straight  across 
the  school.  Straight !  Fix  your  eye  on  some- 
thing when  you  start,  and  ride  at  it  with  as 
much  determination  as  if  it  were  a  fence  ;  now 
turn  to  the  right  again  and  go  forward.  Have 
you  read  Delsarte  ?  " 

No,  you  murmur  to  yourself,  you  have  not 
read  Delsarte,  and,  if  you  had,  you  do  not  believe 
that  you  could  remember  it  or  anything  else 
just  at  present.  What  an  endless  string  of 
directions  !  You  wish  that  there  was  another 
pupil  with  you  to  take  the  burden  of  a  few  of 


90  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

them  !  You  wish  you  were  —  oh  !  anywhere. 
This  is  your  obedience,  is  it,  Esmeralda  ?  Well, 
you  don't  care !  This  is  dull !  Your  horse 
thinks  so,  too.  He  gently  tries  the  reins,  and, 
finding  that  you  offer  no  resistance,  he  decides 
to  take  a  little  exercise,  and  starts  off  at  a  canter, 
keeping  away  from  the  wall  most  piously,  avoid- 
ing the  corners  as  if  some  Hector  might  be  in 
ambuscade  there  to  catch  and  tame  him,  and 
rushing  on  faster  and  faster,  as  you  do  nothing 
in  particular  to  stop  him. 

"  Lean  to  the  right,"  cries  the  master,  and 
you  obey,  but  the  horse  continues  his  canter, 
almost  a  gallop  now,  when  suddenly  your  wits 
return  to  you,  you  draw  back  first  the  right 
hand  and  then  the  left,  he  begins  to  trot,  and 
by  some  miracle  you  begin  to  rise,  and  continue 
to  do  it,  you  do  not  know  exactly  how,  feeling 
a  delight  in  it,  an  exhilarating,  exultant  sensa- 
tion as  if  flying.  "  Keep  your  right  leg  close 
to  the  saddle  below  the  knee  and  turn  your  toes 
in  ! '  You  obey,  and  even  remember  to  press 
your  left  knee  to  the  saddle  also  and  to  keep 
your  heel  down.  "  Don't  rise  to  the  left !  Rise 
straight !     Your  horse  is  circling  to  the  right, 


m  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  91 

and  you  must  lean  to  the  right  to  rise  straight  ! 
Take  him  into  the  corners  so  that  he  will  move 
on  a  straight  line,  and  you  can  rise  straight  and 
be  as  much  at  ease  as  if  on  the  road.  Whoa ! 
Now,  don't  change  your  position,  but  look  at 
yourself  !  You  did  not  shorten  your  reins  when 
you  began  to  trot,  and,  if  your  horse  had  stum- 
bled, you  could  not  have  aided  him  to  regain 
his  balance.  Had  you  shortened  them  properly, 
you  could,  by  sitting  down,  using  your  leg  and 
whip  lightly  and  turning  your  hands  toward  your 
body,  have  brought  him  down  to  a  walk  without 
hurling  yourself  forward  against  the  pommel  in 
that  fashion.  Now,  adjust  yourself  and  your 
reins,  and  start  forward  once  more,"  and  you 
obey,  and  are  beginning  to  flatter  yourself  that 
your  master  does  not  know  that  your  canter  was 
accidental,  when  he  warns  you  against  allowing 
a  horse  to  do  anything  unbidden. 

"You  should  have  stopped  him  at  once,"  he 
says.  "  He  will  very  likely  try  to  repeat  his 
little  manoeuvre  in  a  few  minutes.  When  he 
does,  check  him  instantly,  not  by  your  voice, 
but  as  you  have  been  directed.  And  now,  have 
you  read  Delsarte  ?     No  ?     If  you  have  time, 


92  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

you  might  read  a  chapter  or  two  with  advan- 
tage, simply  for  the  sake  of  learning  that  a 
principle  underlies  all  attitudes. 

"He  divides  the  body  into  three  parts;  the 
head,  torso,  and  legs,  and  he  teaches  that  the 
first  and  third  should  act  on  the  same  line, 
while  the  second  is  in  opposition  to  them.  For 
instance,  if  you  be  standing  and  looking  toward 
the  right,  your  weight  should  rest  on  your  right 
leg  and  your  torso  should  be  turned  to  the  left. 
Neither  turn  should  be  exaggerated,  but  the  two  e 
should  be  exactly  proportioned,  one  to  another. 

"  Now  for  riding,  your  body  is  divided  into 
three  parts,  your  head  and  torso  making  one,  your 
legs  above  the  knee,  the  second,  and  your  legs 
below  the  knee,  the  third,  and  you  will  find  that 
the  first  and  third  will  act  together,  whether  you 
desire  it  or  not.  Your  right  foot  is  properly 
placed  now,  but  turn  its  toes  outward  and  up- 
ward ;  you  see  what  becomes  of  your  right 
shoulder.  Now  try  to  make  a  circle  to  the 
right,  a  volte  we  call  it,  because  it  is  best  to 
become  accustomed  to  a  few  French  words,  as 
there  are  really  no  English  equivalents  for  many 
of  the  terms  used  in  the  art  of  equestrianism. 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  93 

"  To  make  a  volte  you  have  only  to  turn  to 
the  right  and  to  keep  turning,  going  steadily 
away  from  the  wall  until  opposite  your  starting 
point,  and  then  regaining  it  by  a  half-circle. 
Making  voltes  is  not  only  a  useful  exercise, 
showing  your  horse. that  you  really  mean  to 
guide  him,  and  teaching  you  to  execute  a  move- 
ment steadily,  but  it  affords  an  excellent  way 
of  diverting  the  horse's  attention  from  the  mis- 
chief which  Satan  is  always  ready  to  find  for 
idle  hoofs.  Give  him  a  few  voltes  and  he  for- 
gets his  plans  for  setting  off  at  a  canter.  Do 
you  understand  ?  Very  well.  When  you  are 
half-way  down  the  school  try  to  make  a  volte. 
I  will  give  you  no  order.  Your  horse  would 
understand  if  I  did,  and  would  begin  the  move- 
ment himself,  and  you  should  do  it  unaided." 

You  try  the  volte,  and  convince  yourself  that 
the  geometry  master  who  taught  you  that  a 
circle  was  a  polygon  with  an  infinite  number 
of  sides  was  more  exact  and  less  poetical  than 
you  thought  him  in  the  days  before  the  riding- 
school  began  to  reform  your  judgment  on  many 
things.  You  are  conscious  of  not  making  a 
respectable   curve   in   return,   and  you  draw  a 


94  IN  THE  BID1NG-SCH00L. 


deep  breath  of  disgust  as  you  say,  "  That  was 
very  bad,  wasn't  it  ?  " 

"  Not  for  the  first  time.  Keep  your  left  hand 
and  leg  steady,  and  try  it  again  on  the  other 
side  of  the  ring.  Better  !  Now  walk  around, 
and  make  him  go  into  the  corners,  if  you  have 
to  double  your  left  wrist  in  doing  it,  but  don't 
move  your  arm,  and  when  you  begin  to  bend 
your  right  wrist  to  turn,  straighten  your  left, 
and  remember  to  lean  your  body  and  turn  your 
head,  if  you  want  your  horse  to  turn  his  body. 
Your  wrist  acts  on  his  head  and  keeps  him  in 
line  ;  your  whip  and  leg  bring  his  hind  legs 
under  him,  but  you  must  move  your  body  if 
you  want  him  to  move  his. 

"  Now,  you  shall  make  a  half  volte,  or  shall 
'change  hands,'  as  it  is  sometimes  called, 
because,  if  you  start  with  your  left  hand  near- 
est the  wall,  you  will  come  back  to  the  wall 
with  your  right  hand  nearest  to  it ;  or,  to  speak 
properly,  ■  if  you  start  on  the  right  hand  of  the 
school,  you  will  end  on  the  left  hand.'  For 
the  half  volte,  make  a  half  circle  to  the  right, 
and  then  ride  in  a  diagonal  line  to  a  point  some 
distance  back  on  your  track,  and  when  you  are 


IN  THE  BIDING-SCIIOOL.  95 

close  to  it  make  three  quarters  of  a  turn  to  the 
left  and  you  will  find  yourself  on  the  left  of  the 
school,  and  in  a  position  to  practise  keeping 
your  horse  to  the  right.  Try  it,  beginning 
about  two  thirds  of  the  way  down  the  long  side 
of  the  school.  Now  to  get  back  to  the  right 
hand,  you  may  turn  to  the  left  across  the  school, 
and  turn  to  the  left  again. 

"  There  is  a  better  way  of  doing  it,  but  that 
is  enough  for  to-day.  Walk  now.  Do  you  see 
how  much  better  your  horse  carries  himself,  and 
how  much  better  you  carry  your  hands,  after 
those  little  exercises  ?  Now  you  must  try  and 
imagine  yourself  doing  them  over  and  over 
again,  to  accustom  your  mind  to  them,  just  as 
when  learning  to  play  scales  and  five-finger  ex- 
ercises you  used  to  think  them  out  while  walk- 
ing. Shall  you  not  need  pictures  and  diagrams 
to  assist  you  ?  Not  if  you  have  as  much  imagi- 
nation as  any  horsewoman  should  have.  Not 
if  you  have  enough  imagination  to  manage  a 
cow,  much  more  to  enter  into  the  feelings  of 
a  good  horse.  Pictures  are  invaluable  to  the 
stupid  ;  they  benumb  and  enervate  the  clever, 
and  transform  them  into  apish  imitators,  instead 


96  IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL. 

of  making  them  able  to  act  from  their  own 
knowledge  and  volition.  Theory  will  not  make 
you  a  good  rider,  but  a  really  good  rider  with- 
out theory  is  an  impossibility,  and  your  theory 
must  have  a  deeper  seat  than  your  retinae. 
Now,  you  shall  have  a  very  little  trot,  and  then 
you  may  walk  for  ten  minutes,  and  try  to  do 
voltes  and  half  voltes  by  yourself,  asking  me 
for  aid  if  you  cannot  remember  how  to  execute 
the  movements.  Doing  them  will  help  you  to 
pass  away  the  time  when  you  are  too  tired  to 
trot,  and  will  keep  you  from  having  any  dull 
moments." 

And  you,  Esmeralda,  you  naughty  girl  !  You 
forget  all  about  your  sulkiness  half  an  hour  ago, 
and,  looking  your  master  in  the  face,  you  say  : 
"  But  nobody  ever  has  dull  moments  in  riding- 
school."  There  !  Finish  your  lesson  and  walk 
off  to  the  dressing-room  ;  you  will  be  trying  to 
trade  horses  with  somebody  the  next  thing,  you 
artful,  flattering  puss  ! 


7iV  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  97 


VII. 

Here  we  are  riding,  she  and  I 


Browning 


&• 


[s^JPH  AT  is  it  now,  Esmeralda  ?  By  your 
blushing  and  stammering  it  is  fairly 
evident  that  another  of  your  devices 
for  learning  on  the  American  plan  — 
that  is  to  say,  by  not  studying  —  is  in  full  pos- 
session of  your  fancy,  and  that  again  you  ex- 
pect to  become  a  horsewoman  by  miracle ; 
come,  what  is  it  ?  A  music  ride  ?  Nell  has  an 
acquaintance  who  always  rides  to  music,  and 
asserts  that  it  is  as  easy  as  dancing ;  that  the 
music  "  fairly  lifts  you  out  of  the  saddle,"  and 
that  the  pleasure  of  equestrian  exercise  is 
doubled  when  it  is  done  to  the  sound  of  the 
flute,  violin  and  bassoon,  or  whatever  may  be 
the  riding-school  substitutes  ? 

As  for  lifting  you  out  of  the  saddle,  Esmer- 
alda, it  is  quite  possible  that  music  might  exe- 
cute that  feat,  promptly  and  neatly,  once,  and 


98  IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL. 


might  leave  you  out,  were  it  produced  suddenly 
and  unexpectedly  by  "  dot  leetle  Sherman  band," 
and  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that,  were  you  a  rider, 
music  would  exhilarate  you,  quicken  your  mo- 
tions, stimulate  your  nerves,  and  assist  you  as 
it  assists  a  soldier  when  marching.  It  is  also 
true  that  it  will  aid  even  you  somewhat,  by  in- 
dicating on  what  step  you  should  rise,  so  that 
your  motions  will  not  alternate  with  those  of 
your  horse,  to  your  discomfiture  and  his  disgust, 
and  that  thus,  by  mechanically  executing  the 
movement,  you  may  acquire  the  power  of  see- 
ing that  you  are  not  performing  it  when  you 
rise  once  a  minute  or  thereabouts,  but  a  music 
ride  is  an  exercise  which  a  wise  pupil  will  not 
take  until  advised  thereto  by  her  master.  Still, 
have  your  own  way  !  Why  did  George  Wash- 
ington and  the  other  fathers  of  the  republic 
exist,  if  its  daughters  must  be  in  bondage  to 
common  sense  and  expediency  ? 

Borrow  Nell's  habit  once  more,  for  the  criti- 
cism to  be  undergone  on  the  road  is  mild  com- 
pared to  that  of  a  gallery  of  spectators  before 
whom  you  must  repeatedly  pass  in  review,  and 
who    may    select   you    as   the    object   of   their 


IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL.  99 

especial  scrutiny.  Dress  at  home,  if  possible ; 
if  not,  go  to  the  school  early,  and  array  yourself 
rapidly,  but  carefully,  for  there  may  be  fifty 
riders  present  during  the  evening,  and  there 
will  be  little  room  to  spare  on  the  mounting- 
stand,  and  no  minutes  to  waste  on  buttoning 
gloves,  shortening  skirt  straps  or  tightening 
boot  lacings.  Remember  all  that  you  have  been 
taught  about  mounting  and  about  taking  your 
reins,  and  think  assiduously  of  it,  with  a  deter- 
mination to  pay  no  attention  to  the  gallery. 

There  will  be  no  spectators  on  the  mounting- 
stand,  and  Theodore,  who  will  take  charge  of 
you  in  the  ring,  will  mount  before  you  do,  and 
when  you  have  been  put  in  your  saddle  by  one 
of  the  masters,  and  start,  he  will  take  his  place 
on  your  right,  nearer  the  centre  of  the  ring. 
While  you  are  walking  your  horses  slowly  about, 
turning  corners  carefully  and  never  ceasing  to 
control  your  reins,  warn  him  that  when  you  say, 
"  Centre,"  he  must  turn  out  to  the  right  in- 
stantly, that  you  also  may  do  so.  If  possible, 
you  will  not  pronounce  the  word,  but  will  ride 
as  long  as  the  horses  canter  or  trot  in  time  to 
the  music. 


100  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

"  Do  you  understand,"  Theodore  asks,  "that 
these  horses  adjust  their  gait  to  the  music  ?  " 

"  So  Nell's  friend  says." 

"Well,  I  don't  believe  it.  They  are  good 
horses,  but  I  don't  believe  that  they  practise 
circus  tricks.  Why  must  I  go  to  the  centre  the 
minute  that  you  bid  me  ?  Why  couldn't  you 
pull  up  and  pass  out  behind  me  ?  " 

"  Because  if  I  did,  somebody  might  ride  over 
me.  It  is  not  proper  to  stop  while  on  the 
track." 

"  Oh-h  !  How  long  do  they  trot  or  canter  at 
a  time  ?     Half  an  hour  ?  " 

"  Only  a  few  minutes,"  you  answer,  wonder- 
ing whether  Theodore  really  supposes  that  you 
could  canter,  much  less  trot  half  an  hour,  even 
if  stimulated  by  the  music  of  the  spheres. 

"  That's  a  pretty  rider,"  he  says,  as  a  girl  cir- 
cles lightly  past,  sitting  fairly  well,  and  rising 
straight,  but  with  her  arms  so  much  extended 
that  her  elbow  is  the  apex  of  a  very  obtuse  an- 
gle, although  her  forearms  are  horizontal.  You 
explain  this  point  to  Theodore,  who  replies  that 
she  looks  pretty,  and  seems  to  be  able  to  trot 
for   some   time,    whereupon    your   heart    sinks 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  101 

within  you.      What  will  he  say  when  he  sees 
the  necessary  brevity  of  your  performance  ? 

Other  riders  enter :  two  or  three  men 
mounted  on  their  own  horses,  beautiful  creatures 
concerning  whose  value  fabulous  tales  are  told 
in  the  stable  ;  the  best  rider  of  the  school,  very 
quietly  and  correctly  dressed,  and  managing  her 
horse  so  easily  that  the  women  in  the  gallery 
do  not  perceive  that  she  is  guiding  him  at  all, 
although  the  real  judges,  old  soldiers,  a  stray 
racing  man  or  two,  the  other  school  pupils  and 
the  master  —  regard  her  admiringly,  and  the 
grooms,  as  they  bring  in  new  horses,  keep  an 
eye  on  her  and  her  movements,  as  they  linger 
on  their  way  back  to  the  stable. 

"  Her  horse  is  very  good,"  Theodore  admits, 
"  but  I  don't  think  much  of  her.  Well,  yes, 
that  is  pretty,"  he  admits,  as  she  executes  the 
Spanish  trot  for  a  few  steps  and  then  pats  her 
horse's  shoulder ;  "  it's  pretty,  but  anybody 
could  do  it  on  a  trained  horse,  couldn't  they, 
sir?"  he  asks  your  master,  who  rides  up, 
mounted  on  his  own  pet  horse. 

"  Anybody  who  knew  how.  The  horse  has 
been  trained  to  answer  certain  orders,  but  the 


102  IN  THE  BIDIXG-SCHOOL. 

orders  must  be  given.  An  untrained  horse 
would  not  understand  the  orders,  no  matter  how 
good  an  animal  he  might  be.  Antinous  might 
not  have  been  able  to  ride  Bucephalus,  and  I 
don't  believe  that  Alexander  could  have  coaxed 
Rosinante  into  a  Spanish  trot.  It  isn't  enough 
to  have  a  Corliss  engine,  or  enough  to  have  a 
good  engineer:  you  must  have  them  both,  and 
they  must  be  acquainted  with  one  another.  I 
don't  believe  that  horse  would  do  that  for  you." 

"No,  I  don't  think  he  would,"  Theodore  says 
dryly,  for  he  has  been  watching,  and  has  reluc- 
tantly owned  to  himself  that  he  does  not  see 
how  the  movement  is  effected.  Meantime,  you, 
Esmeralda,  have  been  arduously  devoting  your- 
self to  maintaining  a  correct  attitude,  and  are 
rewarded  by  hearing  somebody  in  the  gallery 
wonder  whether  you  represent  the  kitchen 
poker  or  Bunker  Hill  Monument. 

"  Don't  mind,"  your  master  says,  encourag- 
ingly. "It  is  better  to  be  stiffly  erect  than  to  be 
crooked,  and  as  for  the  person  who  spoke,  she 
could  not  ride  a  Newfoundland  dog,"  and  with 
that  he  touches  his  hat,  and  rides  lightly  across 
the  ring  to  speak  to  a  lady  whose  horse  has,  in 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  103 


the  opinion  of  the  gallery,  been  showing  a  very 
bad  temper,  although  in  reality  every  plunge 
and  curvet  has  been  made  in  answer  to  her 
wrist  and  to  the  tiny  spur  which  his  rider  wears 
and  uses  when  needed.  The  lady  nods  in  an- 
swer to  something  which  the  master  says,  the 
two  draw  near  to  the  wall,  side  by  side,  the 
others  fall  in  behind  them,  and  the  band  begins 
a  waltz,  playing  rather  deliberately  at  first,  but 
soon  slightly  accelerating  the  time. 

There  is  very  little  actual  need  of  guiding 
your  horse,  Esmeralda,  because  long  habit  has 
taught  him  what  to  do  at  a  music-ride,  but  you 
do  right  to  continue  to  endeavor  to  make  him 
obey  you.  Should  he  stumble ;  should  that 
man  riding  before  you  and  struggling  to  make 
his  horse  change  his  leading  foot  fail  in  the  at- 
tempt, and  cause  the  poor  creature  to  fall  ; 
should  the  rider  behind  you  lose  control  of  her 
horse,  your  firm  hold  of  the  reins  would  be  of 
priceless  value  to  you,  but  now  the  waltz  rhythm 
suddenly  changes  to  that  of  a  march,  and  your 
horse  begins  to  trot,  slowly  and  with  little  action 
at  first,  and  then  with  a  freer,  longer  stride  which 
really  lifts  you  out  of  the  saddle,  sending  you 


104  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 

rather  too  high  for  grace,  indeed,  but  making  the 
effort  very  slight  for  you,  and  enabling  you 
to  think  about  your  elbows,  and  sitting  to  the 
right  and  keeping  your  right  shoulder  back  and 
your  right  foot  close  to  the  saddle  and  pointing 
downward,  and  your  left  knee  also  close,  and 
" about  seventy-five  other  things,"  as  you  sum 
up  the  case  to  yourself.  Thanks  to  this,  you  are 
enabled  to  continue  until  the  music  stops,  and 
Theodore  says,  approvingly,  "  Well,  you  can  ride 
a  little." 

"  A  very  little,"  your  master  says.  "  She  has 
learned  something,  of  course,  but  it  would  be 
the  unkindest  of  flattery  for  me  to  tell  her  that 
she  does  well." 

"  One  must  begin  to  ride  in  early  childhood," 
Theodore  says. 

"  One  should  begin  to  be  taught  in  child- 
hood," the  master  amends,  "but  it  is  not  abso- 
lutely necessary.  Some  of  the  best  riders  in 
the  French  Army  never  mounted  until  they 
went  to  the  military  school,  and  some  of  the 
best  riders  at  West  Point  only  know  a  horse  by 
sight  until  they  fall  into  the  clutches  of  the 
masters  there,  and  then  ! "  His  countenance 
expresses  deep  commiseration. 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  105 


"  Now,"  he  adds,  "  if  you  take  my  advice, 
you  two,  you  will  take  places  in  the  centre 
of  the  ring ;  you  will  sit  as  well  as  you 
know  how,  Miss  Esmeralda,  and  you  will 
watch  the  others  through  the  next  music. 
It  is  perfectly  allowable,"  he  adds,  draw- 
ing rein  a  moment  as  he  passes,  "  to  sit  a 
little  carelessly  when  your  horse  is  at  rest, 
always  keeping  firm  hold  of  the  reins,  but  I 
would  rather  that  you  did  not  do  it  until  you 
have  ridden  a  little  more  and  are  firmer  in  your 
seat.  Hollow  your  waist  the  least  in  the  world, 
for  the  sake  of  our  poker-critic  in  the  gallery, 
and  watch  for  bad  riding  as  well  as  for  good,"  and 
away  he  goes,  and  again  the  double  circle  of 
riders  sweeps  around  the  ring,  and  you  have 
time  to  see  that  the  horses  seem  to  enjoy  the 
motion,  and  that  their  action  is  more  easy  and 
graceful  than  it  is  when  they  are  obeying  the 
commands  of  poor  riders. 

Theodore  indulges  in  a  little  sarcasm  at  the 
expense  of  a  man  whose  elbows  are  on  a  level 
with  his  shoulders,  while  his  two  hands  are  with- 
in about  three  inches  of  one  another  on  the 
reins,   and  his  horse  has  as  full  possession  of 


106  IN  THE  BIDIXG-SCHOOL. 

his  head  as  of  his  body  and  legs,  which  is  say- 
ing much,  for  his  rider's  toes  are  pointing 
earthward  and  his  heels  apparently  trying  to 
find  a  way  to  one  another  through  the  body  of 
his  steed.  Another  man,  riding  at  an  amble 
into  which  he  has  forced  his  fat  horse  by  using 
a  Mexican  bit,  and  keeping  his  wrists  in  con- 
stant motion  ;  and  another,  who  leans  backward 
until  his  nose  is  on  a  level  with  the  visor  of  his 
cap,  also  attract  his  attention,  but  he  persists  in 
his  opinion  that  the  best  riders  among  the 
ladies  are  those  who  can  trot  and  canter  the 
longest,  until  your  master,  coming  up,  says  in 
answer  to  your  protest  against  such  heresy, 
"  No.  Ease  and  a  good  seat  are  indeed 
essential,  but  they  are  not  everything.  They 
insure  comfort  and  confidence,  but  not  always 
safety.  It  is  well  to  be  able  to  leap  a  fence 
without  being  thrown.  It  is  better  to  know 
how  to  stop  and  open  a  gate  and  shut  it  after 
you,  lest  some  day  you  should  have  ahorse  which 
cannot  leap,  or  a  sprained  wrist  which  may 
make  the  leap  imprudent  for  yourself.  You 
can  acquire  the  seat  almost  insensibly  while 
learning  the  management,  but  you  must  study 


IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL.  107 


in  order  to  learn  the  management.  However, 
you  came  mainly  for  enjoyment  to-night,  I  think. 
Go  and  ride  some  more." 

And  you  obey,  and  you  have  the  enjoyment, 
and  when  you  go  to  the  dressing-room,  it  is  with 
a  feeling  of  perfect  indifference  to  the  gallery 
critics,  and  when  you  come  down,  ready  for  the 
street,  you  have  a  little  gossip  with  the  master. 

This  is  the  only  kind  of  music  ride,  he  tells 
you,  practicable  for  riders  of  widely  varying  abil- 
ity, but  the  ordinary  circus  is  but  a  poor  display  of 
horsemanship  compared  to  what  may  be  seen  in 
some  private  evening  classes  in  this  country,  or 
in  military  schools.  There  are  groups  of  riders  in 
Boston  and  in  New  York,  friends  who  have  long 
practised  together,  who  can  dance  the  lancers 
and  Virginia  reels  as  easily  on  horseback  as  on 
foot,  and  who  can  ride  at  the  ring  as  well  as 
Lord  Lindesay  himself,  or  as  well  as  the  pretty 
English  girls  who  amuse  themselves  with  the 
sport  in  India. 

"Just  think,"  you  sigh,  "to  be  able  to  make 
your  horse  go  forward  and  back,  and  to  move  in 
a  circle,  a  little  bit  of  a  circle,  and  to  do  it  all 
exactly  in  time  !     Oh  !  " 


108  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

And  then,  seeing  Theodore  perfectly  un- 
moved, your  master  tells  of  the  military  music 
rides  when,  rank  after  rank,  the  soldiers  dash 
across  the  wide  spaces  of  the  school  and  stop 
at  a  word,  or  by  a  preconcerted,  silent  signal, 
every  horse's  head  in  line,  every  left  hand  down, 
sabre  or  lance  exactly  poised,  every  foot  motion- 
less, horse  and  rider  still  as  if  wrought  from 
bronze.  And  then  he  tells  of  the  labyrinthine 
evolutions  when  the  long  line  moving  over  the 
school  floor  coils  and  uncoils  itself  more  swiftly 
than  any  serpent,  each  horse  moving  at  speed, 
each  one  obeying  as  implicitly  as  any  creature 
of  brass  and  iron  moved  by  steam.  And  then  he 
talks  of  broadsword  fights,  in  which  the  left 
hand,  managing  the  horse,  outdoes  the  cunning 
of  the  right,  and  of  the  great  reviews,  when,  if 
ever,  a  monarch  must  feel  his  power  as  he 
sees  the  squadrons  dash  past  him,  saluting  as 
one  man,  and  reflects  on  the  expenditure  of 
mental  and  physical  power  represented  in  that 
one  moment's  display. 

"  You  can't  learn  to  do  such  things  as  these," 
he  says,  "by  mere  rough  riding.  Why,  only 
the  other  day,  when  Queen  Victoria  went  to 


IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL.  109 

Sandringham,  the  gentlemen  of  the  Norfolk 
County  hunt  turned  out  to  escort  her  carriage, 
all  in  pink,  all  wearing  the  green  velvet  caps  of 
the  hunt,  all  splendidly  mounted  and  perfectly 
appointed.  They  were  a  magnificent  sight, 
and  it  was  no  wonder  that  Her  Majesty  looked 
at  them  with  approval. 

"  In  a  dash  across  country  they  would  prob- 
ably have  surpassed  any  other  riders  in  the 
world,  unless,  perhaps,  those  of  some  other 
English  county,  but  when  Her  Majesty  and  the 
Prince  of  Wales  appeared  at  a  front  window, 
and  the  gentlemen  rode  past  to  salute  them, 
what  happened  ?  The  first  three  or  four  ranks 
went  on  well  enough,  although  Frenchmen,  or 
Spaniards,  or  Germans  would  have  done  better, 
because  they,  had  they  chosen,  would  have 
saluted  and  then  reined  backward,  but  the  Eng- 
lishmen made  a  gallant  show,  and  Her  Majesty 
smiled.  Somebody  raised  a  cheer,  and  the 
horses  began  to  rear  and  to  perform  movements 
not  named  in  the  school  manuals.  The  Queen 
laughed  outright,  and  the  gentlemen  finished 
their  pretty  parade  in  some  confusion.  Now 
a  very  little   school  training  would   have  pre- 


110  IN  THE  RIDING- SCHOOL. 

vented  that  accident,  and  the  huntsmen  would 
have  been  as  undisturbed  as  Queen  Christina 
was  that  day  when  her  horse  began  to  plunge 
while  in  a  procession,  and  she  quickly  brought 
him  to  his  senses,  and  won  the  heart  of  every 
Spaniard  who  saw  her  by  showing  that  '  the 
Austrian  '  could  ride.  An  English  hunting- 
man's  seat  is  so  good  that  he  is  often  careless 
about  fine  details,  but  a  trained  horseman  is 
careless  about  nothing,  and  a  trained  horse- 
woman is  like  unto  him." 

And  now  the  lights  are  out,  and  you  and 
Theodore  go  away,  and,  walking  home,  lay 
plans  for  further  work  in  the  saddle,  for  he,  too, 
has  caught  the  riding-fever,  and  now  you  begin 
to  think  about  class  lessons. 


IN  THE  BIDING-SCHO OL.  Ill 


VIII. 

All  in  a  wow. 

S other  n. 

"*cTjirjfiND  you  really  fancy,  Esmeralda,  that 
you  are  ready  for  class  lessons  ? 
You  have  been  in  the  saddle  only 
six  times,  remember.  But  you  have 
been  assured,  on  the  highest  authority,  that 
fifty  lessons  in  class  are  worth  a  hundred  pri- 
vate lessons  ?  And  the  same  authority  says 
that  the  class  lessons  should  be  preceded  by  at 
least  twice  as  much  private  instruction  as  you 
have  enjoyed  ;  but,  naturally,  you  suppress  this 
unfavorable  context.  You  think  that  you  can- 
not begin  to  subject  yourself  to  military  disci- 
pline too  soon  ? 

After  that  highly  edifying  statement  of  your 
feelings,  Esmeralda,  hasten  away  to  school  be- 
fore the  dew  evaporates  from  your  dawning 
humility,  and  make  arrangements  for  entering 
a  class  of  beginners.  You  are  fortunate  in  ar- 
riving half  way  between  two  "  hours,"  and  find 


112  IX  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL. 

to  your  delight  that  you  may  begin  to  ride  with 
five  or  six  other  pupils  on  the  next  stroke  of 
the  clock,  and  you  hasten  to  array  yourself,  and 
come  forth  just  in  time  to  see  another  class,  a 
long  line  of  pretty  girls,  making  its  closing 
rounds,  the  leader  sitting  with  exquisitely  bal- 
anced poise,  which  seems  perfectly  careless,  but 
is  the  result  of  years  of  training  and  practice  ; 
others  following  her  with  somewhat  less  grace, 
but  still  accomplishing  what  even  your  slightly 
taught  vision  perceives  to  be  feats  of  manage- 
ment far  beyond  you  ;  still  others,  one  blushing 
little  girl  with  her  hat  slung  on  her  arm,  the 
heavy  coils  of  her  hair  falling  below  her  waist ; 
and  an  assistant  master  riding  with  the  last 
pupil,  who  is  less  skillful  than  the  others,  while 
another  master  rides  up  and  down  the  line  or 
stands  still  in  the  centre  of  the  ring,  criticising, 
exhorting,  praising,  using  sarcasm,  entreaty  and 
sharp  command,  until  the  zeal  and  energy  of  all 
Gaul  seem  centred  in  his  speech. 

The  clock  strikes,  and  in  a  trice  the  whole 
class  is  dismounted,  and  its  members  have 
scampered  away  to  make  themselves  present- 
able for  their  journey  home,  and  to  you,  await- 


IN  THE  BIDIXG-SCHOOL.  113 

ing  your  destiny  in  the  reception  room,  enter 
Versatilia,  the  beauty,  and  the  society  young- 
lady,  and  Nell,  and  you  stare  at  them  in  wrath- 
ful astonishment  fully  equalled  by  theirs,  and 
then,  in  the  following  grand  outburst  of  confes- 
sion, you  are  informed  that,  each  one  having 
planned  to  outgeneral  the  others  and  to  become 
a  wondrous  equestrian,  the  Fates  and  the  wise 
fairy  who,  sitting  in  a  little  room  overlooking 
the  ring,  presides  over  the  destinies  of  classes, 
have  willed  that  you  should  be  taught  together. 
"And  there  are  three  other  young  ladies  who 
have  never  ridden  at  all,"  the  wise  fairy  says, 
"  and  they  are  to  ride  behind  you,  and  you  must 
do  very  well  in  order  to  encourage  them,"  she 
adds  with  a  kind  smile  ;  and  then  there  is  a  gen- 
eral muster  of  grooms  and  horses,  and  in  a 
moment  you  are  all  in  your  saddles  and  walk- 
ing about  the  ring,  into  which,  an  instant  after, 
another  lady  rides  easily  and  gracefully,  to  be 
saluted  by  both  masters  with  a  sigh  of  relief, 
and  requested  to  take  the  lead,  which  she  does, 
trotting  lightly  across  the  ring,  wheeling  into 
line  and  falling  into  a  walk  with  trained  precis- 
ion, and  now  the  lesson  really  begins. 


114  IX  THE  BIDIXG-SCHOOL. 

L  ■■■HUM  ■     ■    ■—  — — ^^^— ^^^^^^—    m ■■      I     ■  ■■      ■       ^ , 

"  You  must  understand,  ladies,"  says  the 
teacher,  "that  you  must  always,  in  riding  in  class, 
keep  a  distance  of  about  three  feet  between 
your  horse  and  the  one  before  you,  and  that 
you  must  preserve  this  equally  in  the  corners, 
on  the  short  sides  of  the  school,  and  on  the 
long  sides." 

"  That's  easy  enough,  I'm  sure,"  says  the  so- 
ciety young  lady,  taking  it  upon  herself  to 
answer,  and  eliciting  an  expression  of  astonish- 
ment from  the  teacher,  not  because  he  is  sur- 
prised, habit  having  rendered  him  sadly  familiar 
with  young  women  of  her  type,  but  because  he 
wishes  to  relegate  her  to  her  proper  position  of 
submissive  silence  as  soon  as  may  be. 

"  You  think  so  ?  "  he  asks.  "  Then  we  shall 
depend  on  you  to  regard  the  distance  with  great 
accuracy.  At  present  you  are  two  feet  too  far 
in  the  rear.  Forward!  Now,  ladies,  when  I 
say  'forward,'  it  is  not  alone  for  one;  it  is  for 
all  of  you  ;  each  one  must  look  and  see  whether 
or  not  her  horse  is  in  the  right  place.  And  she 
must  not  bend  sidewise  to  do  it,  Miss  Versa- 
tilia.  She  must  look  over  her  horse's  head  be- 
tween   his    ears.     Now,    forward !     Now,    look 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  115 

straight  between  your  horse's  ears,  each  one  of 
you,  and  see  something  on  the  horse  before 
you  that  is  just  on  a  line  with  the  top  of  his 
head,  and  use  that  as  a  guide  to  tell  you 
whether  or  not  you  are  in  place  !  Now,  for- 
ward, Miss  —  Miss  Lady  !  Not  so  fast !  Keep 
walking !  Do  not  let  him  trot  !  Keep  up  in 
the  corners  !  Do  not  let  your  horse  go  there 
to  think !  Use  your  whip  lightly !  Not  so, 
not  so  !  "  as  the  society  young  lady  brings  down 
her  whip,  half  on  the  shoulder  of  gentle  Toto, 
half  on  his  saddle,  and  sets  him  dancing  lightly 
out  of  the  line,  to  the  discomfiture  of  Versa- 
tilia's  horse,  who  follows  from  a  sense  of  duty. 

"  Take  your  places  again,"  cries  your  teacher, 
"  and  keep  to  the  wall  !  If  you  had  had  proper 
control  of  your  horse,  that  would  not  have  hap- 
pened, Miss  Versatilia  !  Now,  Miss  Lady,  hold 
your  whip  in  the  hollow  of  your  hand,  and  use 
it  by  a  slight  movement,  not  by  raising  your 
arm  and  lashing,  lashing,  lashing  as  if  you  were 
on  the  race  course.  A  lady  is  not  a  jockey,  and 
she  should  employ  her  whip  almost  as  quietly 
as  she  moves  her  left  foot.  Forward,  forward  ! 
And  keep  on  the   track,   ladies !     Keep    your 


116  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 


horses'  heads  straight  by  holding  your  reins 
perfectly  even,  then  their  bodies  will  be  straight, 
and  you  will  make  one  line  instead  of  being  on 
six  lines  as  you  are  now.  And,  Miss  Esmeralda, 
forward  !  Use  your  whip  !  Not  so  gently  !  It 
is  not  always  enough  to  give  your  horse  one 
little  tap.  Give  him  many,  one  after  the  other 
with  quickened  movement,  so  that  he  will 
understand  that  you  are  in  a  hurry.  It  is  like 
the  reveille  which  sounds  ever  louder  until 
everybody  is  wide  awake  ! 

"  Now,  you  must  not  make  circles !  Make 
squares  !  Go  into  the  corners  !  Don't  pull 
on  your  horse's  head,  Miss  Nell !  He  thinks 
that  you  mean  him  to  stop,  and  then  you 
whip  him  and  he  tries  to  go  on,  and  you 
pull  again,  and  he  knows  not  what  to  think. 
Always  carry  out  whatever  purpose  you  begin 
with  your  horse  if  you  can.  If  sometimes  you 
make  a  mistake,  and  cannot  absolutely  correct 
it  because  of  those  behind  you,  guide  your 
horse  to  his  proper  place,  and  the  next  time 
that  you  come  to  that  part  of  the  ring,  make 
him  go  right  !  Forward,  forward !  Ladies, 
not  one  of  you  is  in  the  right  place  !     Keep  up  ! 


ffl  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL.  117 

Keep  up  !  Miss  Lady,  you  must  go  forward 
regularly !  Now  prepare  to  trot  !  No,  no  ! 
Walk  !  When  I  say,  '  Prepare  to  trot,'  it  is  not 
for  you  to  begin,  but  to  think  of  what  you 
must  do  to  begin,  and  you  must  not  let  your 
horses  go  until  I  give  the  second  order,  and 
then  not  too  fast  at  first.  Now,  prepare  to 
trot !  Trot  !  Not  quite  so  fast,  Miss  Lady ; 
gently !  Keep  up,  keep  up,  Miss  Beauty ! 
Miss  Esmeralda,  you  are  sitting  too  far  to  the 
left ;  your  left  shoulder  is  too  far  back  !  Don't 
hold  your  hands  so  high,  Miss  Versatilia ! 
Rise  straight,  Miss  Esmeralda  !  Now,  remem- 
ber, ladies,  what  I  say  is  for  all.  Prepare  to 
whoa  !     Whoa  !  " 

The  leader,  by  an  almost  imperceptible  series 
of  movements,  first  sitting  down  in  her  saddle, 
then  slightly  relaxing  her  hold  of  the  reins, 
and  turning  both  hands  very  slightly  inward, 
brings  her  horse  to  a  walk  and  continues  on  her 
way.  The  others,  with  more  or  less  awkward- 
ness, come  to  a  full  stop,  and  your  teacher 
laughs. 

"When  I  say  that,"  he  explains,  "  I  mean  to 
cease  trotting,  not  to  stop.     Go  forward,  and 


118  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 

remember  how  you  have  been  taught  to  go  for- 
ward, Miss  Esmeralda.  It  is  not  enough  to 
frown  at  your  horse.  Now,  prepare  to  trot  ! 
Trot  ! "  And  then  he  repeats  again  and  again 
that  series  of  injunctions  which  already  seems 
so  threadbare  to  you,  Esmeralda,  but  which  you 
do  not  follow,  not  because  you  do  not  try,  but 
because  you  have  not  full  control  of  your  mus- 
cles, and  then  comes  once  more  the  order, 
"Prepare  to  whoa.  Whoa!"  and  a  volley  of 
sharp  reminders  about  distance  and  about  the 
solemn  duty  of  keeping  a  horse  moving  while 
turning  corners,  and  once  more  the  column 
proceeds  as  regularly  as  possible. 

"  I  observe,"  says  your  teacher,  riding  close 
to  you,  "  that  you  seem  timid,  Miss  Esmeralda. 
Do  you  feel  frightened." 
"  No,"  you  assure  him. 

"  Then  it  is  because  you  are  nervous  that  you 
are  so  rigid.  Try  not  to  be  stiff.  Give  your- 
self a  little  more  flexibility  in  the  fingers,  the 
wrists,  the  elbows,  everywhere  !  You  are  not 
tired?  No?  Be  easy  then,  be  easy!"  And 
you  remember  that  you  have  been  likened  unto 
a  poker,  and  sadly  think  that,  perhaps  the 
comparison  was  just. 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  119 

"  The  other  master  shall  ride  with  you  for  a 
few  rounds,"  he  continues  ;  <4  that  will  give  you 
confidence,  and  you  will  not  be  nervous."  You 
indignantly  disclaim  the  possession  of  nerves, 
he  smiles  indulgently,  and  the  other  teacher 
rides  up  beside  you,  and  advises  you  steadily 
and  quietly  during  the  next  succession  of  trot- 
ting and  walking,  and,  conscious  of  not  exert- 
ing yourself  quite  so  much  and  of  being  easier, 
you  begin  to  think  that  perhaps  you  have  a 
nerve  or  two  somewhere,  and  you  determine  to 
conquer  them. 

"  You  are  sitting  too  far  to  the  right  now," 
says  your  new  guide,  the  most  quiet  of  North 
Britons.  "  There  should  be  about  half  an  inch 
of  the  saddle  visible  to  you  beyond  the  edge  of 
your  habit,  if  it  fit  quite  smooth,  but  you  would 
better  not  look  down  to  see  it.  It  would  do  no 
harm  for  once,  perhaps,  but  it  would  look  queer, 
and  might  come  to  be  a  habit.  Try  to  judge 
of  your  position  by  the  feeling  of  your  shoul- 
ders and  by  thinking  whether  you  are  observ- 
ing every  rule  ;  but,  once  in  a  great  while,  when 
you  are  walking,  take  your  reins  in  your  left 
hand,  pass  your  right  hand   lightly  along  the 


120  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

edge  of  your  saddle  and  satisfy  yourself  that 
you  are  quite  correct  in  position.  If  you  be 
quite  sure  that  you  can  take  a  downward  glance, 
without  moving  your  head,  try  it  occasionally, 
but  very  rarely.  Use  this,  in  fact,  as  you  would 
use  a  measure  to  verify  a  drawing  after  employ- 
ing every  other  test,  and  if  any  teacher  notice 
you  and  reprove  you  for  doing  it,  do  not  allow 
yourself  to  use  it  again  for  two  or  three  les- 
sons, for,  unless  you  can  be  quiet  about  it,  it  is 
better  not  to  use  it  at  all." 

"  Ladies,  ladies,"  cries  a  new  voice,  at  the 
sound  of  which  the  leader  is  seen  to  sit  even 
better  than  before,  "  this  is  not  a  church,  that 
you  should  go  to  sleep  while  you  are  taught 
truth!  Attend  to  your  instructor!  Keep  up 
when  he  tells  you.  Make  your  movements 
with  energy.  You  tire  him  ;  you  tire  me  ;  you 
tire  the  good  horses  !  Now,  then,  rouse  your- 
selves !  Prepare  to  trot  !  Trot  !  "  And  away 
go  the  horses,  each  one  seeming  to  feel  new 
vigor,  for  it  is  not  every  hour  that  they  hear 
the  strong  voice  which  means  that  instant  obe- 
dience must  be  rendered.  "  Keep  up !  keep 
up  !  "   cries  your  teacher.     "  Come  on  !  "   says 


IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  121 

your  own  guide,  and  then  pauses  himself,  to  urge 
on  the  beginners  behind  you,  and  for  a  minute 
or  two  the  orders  follow  one  another  thick  and 
fast,  the  three  men  working  together,  each 
seeming  to  have  eyes  for  each  pupil,  and  to 
divine  the  intentions  of  his  coadjutors,  and 
then  comes  the  order,  "  Prepare  to  whoa  ! 
Whoa !  "  and  the  master  sits  down  on  the 
mounting-stand,  and  frees  his  mind  on  the 
subject  of  corners,  a  topic  which  you  begin  to 
think  is  inexhaustible. 

"  Please  show  these  ladies  how  to  go  into  a 
corner,"  he  concludes,  and  your  teacher  does 
so,  executing  the  movement  so  marvelously 
that  it  seems  as  if  he  would  have  no  difficulty 
in  performing  it  in  any  passageway  through 
which  his  horse  could  walk  in  a  straight  line. 
The  whole  class  gazes  enviously,  to  be  brought 
to  a  proper  frame  of  mind  by  a  sharp  expostu- 
latory  fire  of :  "  Keep  your  distance  !  For- 
ward !  "  with  about  four  times  as  many  warn- 
ings addressed  to  the  society  young  lady  as  to 
all  the  others  ;  and  then  suddenly,  unexpectedly, 
the  clock  strikes  and  the  lesson  is  over. 

The  society  young  lady  dresses  herself  with 


122  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 

much  precision  and  deliberation,  and  announces 
that  she  will  never,  no,  never  !  never  so  long  as 
she  lives,  come  again  ;  and  in  spite  of  Nell's 
attempts  to  quiet  her,  she  repeats  the  state- 
ment in  the  reception  room,  in  the  master's 
hearing,  aiming  it  straight  at  his  quiet  coun- 
tenance. 

"  No  ?  "  he  says,  not  so  much  disturbed  as 
she  could  desire.  "  You  should  not  despair, 
you  will  learn  in  time." 

"  I  don't  despair,"  she  answers  ;  "  but  I 
know  something,  and  I  will  not  be  treated  as  if 
I  knew  nothing." 

u  Ah,  you  know  something,"  he  repeats,  in 
an  interested  way.  "  But  what  you  do  not 
know,  my  young  lady,  is  how  little  that  some- 
thing is  !  This  is  a  school ;  you  come  here  to 
be  taught.  I  will  not  cheat  you  by  not  teach- 
ing you." 

"  And  it  is  no  way  to  teach  !  Three  men 
ordering  a  class  at  once  !  " 

"  Ah,  it  is  '  no  way  to  teach  '  !  Now,  it  is  I  who 
am  taking  a  lesson  from  you.  I  am  greatly 
obliged,  but  I  must  keep  to  my  own  old  way.  It 
may  be  wrong  —  for  you,  my  young  lady  —  but 


IN  THE  BIDING- SCHOOL.  123 


it  has  made  soldiers  to  ride,  and  little  girls,  and 
other  young  ladies,  and  I  am  content.  And 
these  others  ?  Are  they  not  coming  any 
more  ?  " 

And  every  one  of  those  cowardly  girls  hud- 
dles away  behind  you,  Esmeralda,  and  leaves 
you  to  stammer,  "  Y-yes,  sir,  but  you  do  s-scold 
a  little  hard." 

"  That,"  says  the  master,  "is  my  big  voice  to 
make  the  horses  mind,  and  to  make  sure  that 
you  hear  it.  And  I  told  you  the  other  day  that 
I  spoke  for  your  good,  not  for  my  own.  If 
I  should  say  every  tinle  I  want  trotting,  '  My 
dear  and  much  respected  beautiful  young  ladies, 
please  to  trot,'  how  much  would  you  learn  in  a 
morning  ?  " 

"  We  are  ladies,"  says  the  society  young  lady, 
"and  we  should  be  treated  as  ladies." 

"And  you — or  these  others,  since  you 
retire  —  are  my  pupils,  and  shall  be  treated  as 
my  pupils,"  he  says  with  a  courtly  bow  and  a 
"  Good  morning,"  and  you  go  away  trying  to 
persuade  the  society  young  lady  to  reconsider. 

"  Not  that  I  care  much  whether  she  does  or 
not,"  Nell  says  confidentially  to  you.    "  She's  too 


124  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

overbearing  for  me,"  and  just  at  that  minute  the 
voice  of  the  society  young  lady  is  heard  to  call 
the  master  "  overbearing,"  and  you  and  Nell 
exchange  delighted,  mischievous  smiles. 

Now  for  that  stiffness  of  yours,  Esmeralda, 
there  is  a  remedy,  as  there  is  for  everything  but 
death,  and  you  should  use  it  immediately,  before 
the  rigidity  becomes  habitual.  Continue  your 
other  exercises,  but  devote  only  about  a  third  as 
much  time  to  them,  and  use  the  other  two  thirds 
for  Delsarte  movements. 

First  :  Let  your  hands  hang  loosely  from  the 
wrist,  and  swing  them  lifelessly  to  and  fro. 
Execute  the  movement  first  with  the  right  hand 
then  with  the  left,  then  with  both. 

Second  :  Let  the  fingers  hang  from  the 
knuckles,  and  shake  them  in  the  same  way  and 
in  the  same  order. 

Third  :  Let  the  forearm  hang  from  the  elbow, 
and  proceed  in  like  manner. 

Fourth  :  Let  the  whole  arm  hang  from  the 
shoulder,  and  swing  the  arms  by  twisting  the 
torso. 

Execute  the  finger  and  hand  movements 
with     the     arms     hanging     at     the    side,    ex- 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  125 

tended  sidewise,  stretched  above  the  head, 
thrust  straight  forward,  with  the  arms  thrust 
straight  forward  and  the  forearms  bent  at  right 
angles  to  them  and  with  the  arms  flung  back- 
ward as  far  as  possible.  Execute  the  forearm 
movements  with  the  arms  falling  at  the  side,  and 
also  with  the  elbow  as  high  as  the  shoulder. 

After  you  have  performed  these  exercises  for 
a  few  days,  you  will  begin  to  find  it  possible  to 
make  yourself  limp  and  lifeless  when  necessary, 
and  the  knowledge  will  be  almost  as  valuable  as 
the  ability  to  hold  yourself  firm  and  steady. 
You  will  find  the  exercises  in  Mrs.  Thompson's 
"  Society  Gymnastics,"  but  these  are  all  that 
you  will  need  for  at  least  one  week,  especially  if 
you  have  to  devote  many  hours  to  the  task  of 
persuading  the  society  young  lady  not  to  leave 
your  class  unto  you  desolate. 


126  IX  THE  BIDIXG-SCHOOL. 


IX. 

"  Left  wheel  into  line  !  "  and  they 
wheel  and  obey. 

Tennyson. 

[HEN  you  arrive  at  the  school  for  your 
second  class  lesson,  Esmeralda,  you 
find  the  dressing-room  pervaded  by 
a  silence  as  clearly  indicative  of  a 
recent  tempest  as  the  path  cloven  through  a 
forest  by  a  tornado.  From  the  shelter  of 
screens  and  from  retired  nooks,  come  sounds 
indicative  of  garments  doffed  and  donned  with 
abnormal  celerity  and  severity,  but  never  a  word 
of  joking,  and  never  a  cry  for  deft-fingered 
Kitty's  assistance,  and  then,  little  by  little,  even 
these  noises  die  away,  and  the  palace  of  the 
Sleeping  Beauty  could  not  be  more  quiet.  No 
girl  stirs  from  her  lurking-place,  until  you  your- 
self issue  from  your  pet  corner,  and  then  Nell, 
a  warning  finger  on  her  lip,  noiselessly  emerges 
from  hers,  and  you  go  into  the  reception  room 
together,  and  she  explains  to  you  that,  despite 


IX  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL.  127 

her  announcement  that  she  would  never  come 
again,  the  society  young  lady  has  appeared,  and 
has  announced  her  intention  to  defend  what  she 
grandly  terms  her  position  as  a  lady. 

"  And  the  master  will  think  us,  her  associates, 
as  unruly  as  she  is  !  "  Nell  almost  sobs.  "  If  I 
were  he,  I  would  send  the  whole  class  home, 
there !  "  But  the  other  girls  now  enter,  each 
magnificently  polite  to  the  others,  and  the  file  of 
nine  begins  its  journey  along  the  wall,  attended  as 
before,  the  society  young  lady  taking  great  pains 
about  distance,  and  really  doing  very  well,  but 
the  beauty  sitting  with  calm  negligence  which 
soon  brings  a  volley  of  remonstrance  from  both 
teachers,  who  address  her  much  after  the  fash- 
ion of  Sydney  Smith's  saying,  "  You  are  on  the 
high  road  to  ruin  the  moment  you  think  yourself 
rich  enough  to  be  careless." 

"  You  must  not  keep  your  whip  in  contact 
with  your  horse's  shoulder  all  the  time,"  lec- 
tures one  of  the  teachers,  "  if  you  do,  you  have 
no  means  of  urging  him  to  go  forward  a  little 
faster.  Keep  it  pressed  against  the  saddle,  not 
slanting  outward  or  backward.  When  you  use 
it,  do  it  without  relaxing   your  hold  upon  the 


128  IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL. 

reins,  for  if,  by  any  mischance,  your  horse  should 
start  quickly,  you  will  need  it.  Forward,  ladies, 
forward  !  Don't  stop  in  the  corners  !  Use 
your  whips  a  very  little,  just  as  you  begin  to 
turn  !  Miss  Esmeralda,  keep  to  the  wall !  No, 
no  !  Don't  keep  to  the  wall  by  having  your 
left  rein  shorter  than  your  right !  They  should 
be  precisely  even." 

"As  you  approach  the  corner,"  says  the 
other  teacher  quietly,  speaking  to  you  alone, 
"carry  your  right  hand  a  little  nearer  to  your 
left  without  bending  your  wrist,  so  that  your 
rein  will  just  touch  your  horse's  neck  on  the 
right  side.     That  will  keep  his  head  straight." 

"But  he  seems  determined  to  go  to  the 
right,"  you  object. 

"That  is  because  your  right  rein  is  too  short 
now.  While  we  are  going  down  the  long  side 
of  the  school,  make  the  reins  precisely  even. 
Now,  lay  the  right  rein  on  his  neck,  use  your 
whip  and  touch  him  with  your  heel  to  make 
him  go  on  ;  bend  your  right  wrist  to  turn  him, 
use  your  whip  once  more,  and  go  on  again !  " 

"  Forward,  Miss  Esmeralda,  forward  !  "  cries 
the  other  teacher. 


Z/V  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  129 

"That  is  because  Miss  Laclv  did  not  go  into 
the  corner,  and  so  is  too  far  in  advance,"  your 
teacher  explains.  "  You  must,  in  class,  keep 
your  distance  as  carefully  when  the  rider  imme- 
diately before  you  is  wrong  as  when  she  is 
right.  It  is  the  necessity  of  doing  that,  of  hav- 
ing to  be  ready  for  emergencies,  to  think  of 
others  as  much  as  of  your  horse  and  of  your- 
self, that  give  class  teaching  much  of  its  value." 

"  Forward,  ladies,  forward,"  cries  the  other 
teacher.  "  Remember  that  you  are  not  to  go  to 
sleep !  Now  prepare  to  trot,  and  don't  go  too 
fast  at  first..  Remember  always  to  change 
from  one  gait  to  another  gently,  for  your  own 
sake,  that  you  may  not  be  thrown  out  of 
position  ;  for  your  horse's,  that  he  may  not  be 
startled,  and  made  unruly  and  ungraceful. 
He  has  nerves  as  well  as  you.  Now,  prepare 
to  trot  !  Trot  !  Shorten  your  reins,  Miss 
Beauty !  Shorten  them !  "  and  during  the 
next  minute  or  two,  while  the  class  trots 
about  a  third  of  a  mile,  the  poor  beauty  hears 
every  command  in  the  manual  addressed  to 
her,  and  smilingly  tries,  but  tries  in  vain,  to 
obey   them  ;   but   in  an  unhappy  moment   the 


130  IN  THE  BIDIXG-SCHOOL. 

teacher's  glance  falls  on  the  society  young  lady 
and  he  bids  her  keep  her  right  shoulder  back. 
"  You  told  me  that  before,"  she  says,  rather 
more  crisply  than  is  prescribed  by  any  of  the 
manuals  of  etiquette  which  constitute  her  sole 
library. 

"  Then  why  don't  you  do  it  ?  "  is  his  answer. 
"  Keep  your  left  shoulder  forward,"  he  says  a 
moment  later,  whereupon  the  society  young 
lady  turns  to  the  right,  and  plants  herself  in  the 
centre  of  the  ring  with  as  much  dignity  as  is 
possible,  considering  that  her  horse,  not  having 
been  properly  stopped,  and  feeling  the  nervous 
movements  of  her  hands,  moves  now  one  leg 
and  now  another,  now  draws  his  head  down 
pulling  her  forward  on  the  pommel,  and  gener- 
ally disturbs  the  beautiful  repose  of  manner 
upon  which  she  prides  herself. 

"  You  are  tired  ?  No  ?  Frightened  ?  Your 
stirrup  is  too  short  ?  You  are  not  comfort- 
able?' demands  the  teacher,  riding  up  beside 
her.  "  Is  there  anything  which  you  would  like 
to  have  me  do  ?  " 

"  I  don't  like  to  be  told  to  do  two  things  at 
once,"  she  responds  in  a  tone  which  should  be 


IN  THE  B1DING-SCH00L.  131 


felt  by  the  thermometer  at  the  other  end  of  the 


ring. 


"But  you  must  do  two  things  at  once,  and 
many  more  than  two,  on  horseback,"  he  says  ; 
"  when  you  are  rested,  take  your  place  in  the 
line." 

"I  think  I  will  dismount,"  she  says. 

"  Very  well,"  and  before  she  has  time  to 
change  her  mind,  a  bell  is  rung,  a  groom  guides 
her  horse  to  the  mounting-stand,  the  master 
himself  takes  her  out  of  the  saddle,  courte- 
ously bids  her  be  seated  in  the  reception  room 
and  watch  the  others,  and  she  finds  her  little  dem- 
onstration completely  and  effectually  crushed, 
and,  what  is  worse,  apparently  without  inten- 
tion. Nobody  appears  to  be  aware  that  she 
has  intended  a  rebellion,  although  "  whole 
Fourth  of  Julys  seem  to  bile  in  her  veins." 

"Now,"  the  teacher  goes  on,  "we  will  turn 
to  the  right,  singly.  Turn  !  Keep  up,  ladies  ! 
Keep  up  !  Ride  straight  !  To  the  right  again  ! 
Turn  ! '  and  back  on  the  track,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  school,  the  leader  in  the  rear,  the 
beginners  in  advance,  you  continue  until  two 
more  turns  to  the  right  replace  you. 


132  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

"  That  was  all  wrong,"  the  teacher  says, 
cheerfully.  "  You  did  not  ride  straight,  and 
you  did  not  ride  together.  Your  horses'  heads 
should  be  in  line  with  one  another  every  step 
of  the  way  across  the  school,  and  then  when 
you  arrive  at  the  track  and  turn  to  the  right 
again,  your  distance  will  be  correct.  Now  we 
will  have  a  little  trot,  and  while  you  are  resting 
afterward,  you  shall  try  the  turn  again." 

The  society  young  lady,  watching  the  scene 
in  sulkiness,  notes  various  faults  in  each  rider 
and  feels  that  the  truly  promising  pupil  of  the 
class  is  sitting  in  her  chair  at  that  moment ; 
but  she  says  nothing  of  the  kind,  contenting 
herself  by  asking  the  master,  with  well-adjusted 
carelessness,  if  it  would  not  be  better  for  the 
teacher  to  speak  softly. 

"  It  gives  a  positive  shock  to  the  nerves  to 
be  so  vehemently  addressed,"  she  says,  with  the 
air  of  a  Hammond  advising  an  ignorant  nurse. 

"  That  is  what  he  has  the  intention  to  do," 
replies  the  other.  "  It  is  necessary  to  arouse 
the  rider's  will  and  not  to  let  her  sleep,  but  if  it 
were  not,  the  teacher  of  riding,  or  anybody  who 
has  to  give  orders,  orders,  orders  all  day  long, 


IX  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  133 

must  speak  from  an  expanded  chest,  with  his 
lungs  full  of  air,  or  at  night  he  will  be  dumb. 
The  young  man  behind  the  counter  who  has  to 
entreat,  to  persuade,  to  beg,  to  be  gentle,  he 
may  make  his  voice  soft,  but  to  speak  with 
energy  in  a  low  tone  is  to  strain  the  vocal  cords 
and  to  injure  the  lungs  permanently.  The  opera 
singer  finds  to  sing  piano,  pianissimo  more 
wearisome  than  to  make  herself  heard  above  a 
Wagner  orchestra.  The  orator,  with  everybody 
still  and  listening  with  countenance  intent, 
dares  not  to  speak  softly,  except  now  and  then 
for  contrast.  In  the  army  we  have  three 
months'  rest,  and  then  we  go  to  the  surgeon, 
and  he  examines  our  throats  and  lungs,  and  sees 
whether  or  not  they  need  any  treatment.  If 
you  go  to  the  camp  of  the  military  this  summer, 
you  will  find  the  young  officers  whom  you  know 
in  the  ball-room  so  soft  and  so  gentle,  not 
whispering  to  their  men,  but  shouting,  and  the 
best  officer  will  have  the  loudest  shout." 

The  society  young  lady  remembers  the 
stories  which  she  has  heard  her  father  and 
uncles  tell  of  that  "  officer's  sore  throat," 
which  in  1861   and    1862,  caused   so  many  ludi- 


134  IX  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 


crous  incidents  among  the  volunteer  soldiery, 
the  energetic  drill  master  of  one  day  being 
transformed  into  a  voiceless  pantomimist  by 
the  next,  but,  like  Juliet  when  she  spoke,  she 
says  nothing,  and  now  the  teacher  once  more 
cries,  "  Turn  !  '  and  then,  suddenly,  "  Prepare 
to  stop  !  Stop!  Now  look  at  your  line  !  No 
two  of  you  have  your  horses'  heads  even  ! 
And  how  many  of  you  were  riding  straight  ?  " 

A  dead  silence  gives  a  precisely  correct 
answer,  and  again  he  cries,  "  Forward  !  "  A 
repetition  of  the  movement  is  demanded,  and 
is  received  with  cries  of  "  This  is  not  good, 
ladies  !  This  is  not  good  !  We  will  try  again 
by  and  by.  Now,  prepare  to  change  hands  in 
file." 

The  leader,  turning  at  one  corner  of  the 
school,  makes  a  line  almost  like  a  reversed 
"  s '  to  the  corner  diagonally  opposite,  and 
comes  back  to  the  track  on  the  left  hand,  the 
others  straggling  after  with  about  as  much 
precision  and  grace  as  Jill  followed  Jack  down 
the  hill  ;  but,  before  they  are  fairly  aware  how 
very  ill  they  have  performed  the  manoeuvre, 
they  perceive  that  their  teacher  not  only  aimed 


IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  135 

at  having  them  learn  how  to  turn  to  the  left  at 
each  corner,  but  also  at  giving  himself  an  op- 
portunity to  make  remarks  about  their  feet  and 
the  position  thereof,  and  at  the  end  of  five  min- 
utes each  girl  feels  as  if  she  were  a  centipede, 
and  you,  Esmeralda,  secretly  wonder  whether 
something  in  the  way  of  mucilage  or  thumb- 
tacks might  not  be  used  to  keep  your  own  rid- 
ing boots  close  to  the  saddle.  "  And  don't  let 
your  left  foot  swing,"  says  the  teacher  in  clos- 
ing his  exhortations  ;  "hold  it  perfectly  steady! 
Now  change  hands  in  file,  and  come  back  to  the 
track  on  the  right  again,  and  we  will  have  a 
little  trot." 

"  And  before  you  begin,"  lectures  the  mas- 
ter, "  I  will  tell  you  something.  The  faster 
you  go,  after  once  you  know  how  to  stay  in 
your  saddle,  the  better  for  you,  the  better  for 
your  horse.  You  see  the  great  steamer  cross- 
ing the  ocean  when  under  full  headway,  and 
she  can  turn  now  this  way  and  now  that,  with 
the  least  little  touch  of  the  rudder,  but  when 
she  is  creeping,  creeping  through  the  narrow 
channel,  she  must  have  a  strong,  sure  hand  at 
the  helm,  and  when  she  is  coming  up  to  her 


13G  IX  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL. 


wharf,  easy,  easy,  she  must  swing  in  a  wide 
circle.  That  is  why  my  word  to  you  is  always 
'  Forward  !  Forward  !  '  and  again,  '  Forward  ! ' 
There  is  a  scientific  reason  underlying  this,  if 
you  care  to  know  it.  When  you  go  fast,  neither 
you  nor  your  horse  has  time  to  feel  the  press- 
ure of  the  atmosohere  from  above,  and  that  is 
why  it  seems  as  if  you  were  flying,  and  he  is 
happy  and  exhilarated  as  well  as  you.  You  will 
see  the  tame  horse  in  the  paddock  gallop  about 
for  his  pleasure,  and  the  wild  horse  on  the  prai- 
rie will  start  and  run  for  miles  in  mere  sportive- 
ness.  So,  if  you  want  to  have  pleasure  on 
horseback,  '  Forward  ! '  " 

While  the  little  trot  is  going  on,  the  society 
young  lady  improves  the  shining  hour  by  ask- 
ing the  master  "if  he  do  not  think  it  cruel  to 
make  a  poor  horse  go  just  as  fast  as  it  can,"  to 
which  he  replies  that  the  horse  will  desire 
to  go  quite  as  long  as  she  can  or  will,  where- 
upon she  withdraws  into  the  cave  of  sulkiness 
again,  but  brightens  perceptibly  as  you  dis- 
mount and  join  her. 

"You  do  look  so  funny,  Esmeralda,"  she 
begins.  "  Your  feet  do  seem  positively  im- 
mense, as  the  teacher  said." 


IX  THE  BIDIXG-SCHOOL.  137 

"  Pardon  me;  I  said  not  that,"  gently  inter- 
poses the  teacher ;  "  only  that  they  looked  too 
big ;  bigger  than  they  are,  when  she  turns 
them  outward." 

"And  you  do  sit  very  much  on  one  side," 
she  continues  to  Versatilia  ;  "and  your  crimps 
are  quite  flat,  my  dear,"  to  the  beauty. 

"Never  mind;  they  aren't  fastened  on  with 
a  safety  pin,"  retorts  the  beauty,  plucking  up 
spirit,  unexpectedly. 

"  O,  no  !  of  course  not,"  the  wise  fairy  in- 
terposes, with  a  little  laugh.  "  You  young 
ladies  do  not  do  such  things,  of  course.  But, 
do  you  know,  I  heard  of  a  lady  who  wore  a 
switch  into  a  riding-school  ring  one  day,  and 
it  came  off,  and  the  riding  master  had  to  keep 
it  in  his  pocket  until  the  end  of  the  lesson." 

Little  does  the  wise  fairy  know  of  the  society 
young  lady's  ways  !  What  she  has  determined 
to  say,  she  declines  to  retain  unsaid,  and  so  she 
cries:  "And  you  do  thrust  your  head  forward 
so  awkwardly,  Nell !  " 

"  '  We  are  ladies,'  "  quotes  Nell,  "  and  we  can't 
answer  you,"  and  the  society  young  lady  finds 
herself  alone  with    the  wise  fairy,  who  is  sud- 


138  IX  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

denly  very  busy  with  her  books,  and,  after  a 
moment,  she  renews  her  announcement  that  she 
is  not  coming  any  more.  "  Well,  I  wouldn't," 
the  wise  fairy  says,  looking  thoughtfully  at  her. 
"  You  make  the  others  unhappy,  and  that  is  not 
desirable,  and  you  will  not  be  taught.  I  gave 
you  fair  warning  that  the  master  would  be 
severe,  but  those  who  come  here  to  learn  enjoy 
their  lessons.  Once  in  a  great  while  there  are 
ladies  who  do  not  wish  to  be  taught,  but  they 
find  it  out  very  soon,  as  you  have." 

"  There  is  always  a  good  reason  for  every- 
thing," the  master  says  gravely.  "  Now,  I  have 
seen  many  great  men  who  could  not  learn  to 
ride.  There  was  Gambetta.  Nothing  would 
make  a  fine  rider  of  that  man  !  Why  ?  Be- 
cause for  one  moment  that  his  mind  was  on  his 
horse,  a  hundred  it  was  on  something  else. 
And  Jules  Verne  !  He  could  not  learn  !  And 
Emile  Girardin  !  They  had  so  many  things  to 
think  about  !  Now,  perhaps  it  is  so  with  this 
young  lady.  Society  demands  so  much,  one 
must  do  so  many  things,  that  she  cannot  bend 
her  mind  to  this  one  little  art.  It  is  unfortu- 
nate, but  then  she  is  not  the  first !  "     And  with 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  139 

a  little  salute  he  turns  away,  and  the  society 
young  lady,  much  crosser  than  she  was  before 
he  invented  this  apology  for  her,  comes  into  the 
dressing  room  and  —  bids  you  farewell  ?  Not 
at  all  !  Says  that  she  is  sorry,  and  that  she 
knows  that  she  can  learn,  and  is  going  to  try. 
"  And  I  suppose  now  that  nothing  will  make  her 
go!"  Nell  says,  lugubriously,  as  you  saunter 
homeward. 

You  are  still  conscious  of  stiffness,  Esmer- 
alda ?  That  is  not  a  matter  for  surprise  or  for 
anxiety.  All  your  life  you  have  been  working 
for  strength,  for  even  your  dancing-school 
teacher  was  not  one  of  those  scientific  ballet- 
masters,  who,  like  Carlo  Blasis,  would  have 
taught  you  that  the  strength  of  a  muscle  often 
deprives  it  of  flexibility  and  softness.  You  de- 
sire that  your  muscles  should  be  rigid  or  relaxed 
at  will.  Go  and  stand  in  front  of  your  mirror, 
and  let  your  head  drop  toward  either  shoulder, 
causing  your  whole  torso  to  become  limp.  Now 
hold  the  head  erect,  and  try  to  reproduce  the 
feeling.  The  effect  is  awkward,  and  not  to  be 
practised  in  public,  but  the  exercise  enables 
you  to  perceive  for  yourself  when  you  are  stiff 


140  IN  THE  RIDING- SCHOOL. 


about  the  shoulders  and  waist.  Now  drop  your 
head  backward,  and  swing  the  body,  not  trying 
to  control  the  head,  and  persist  until  you  can 
thoroughly  relax  the  muscles  of  the  neck,  a 
work  which  you  need  not  expect  to  accomplish 
until  after  you  have  made  many  efforts.  Now 
execute  all  your  movements  for  strengthening 
the  muscles,  very  slowly  and  lightly,  using  as 
little  force  as  possible.  After  you  can  do  this 
fairly  well,  begin  by  executing  them  quickly  and 
forcibly,  then  gradually  retard  them,  and  make 
them  more  gently,  until  you  glide  at  last  into 
perfect  repose.  This  will  take  time,  but  the 
good  results  will  appear,  not  only  in  your  riding, 
but  also  in  your  walking  and  in  your  dancing. 
You  and  Nell  might  practise  these  Delsarte 
exercises  together,  for  no  especial  dress  is 
needed  for  them,  and  companionship  will  remove 
the  danger  of  that  dulness  which,  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted, sometimes  besets  the  amateur,  unsus- 
tained  by  the  artist's  patient  energy.  Before 
you  take  another  class  lesson,  you  may  have  an 
exercise  ride,  in  which  to  practise  what  you 
have  learned.  "  Tried  to  learn  !  "  do  you  say  ? 
Well,  really,  Esmeralda,  one  begins  to  have 
hopes  of  you  ! 


IX  THE  BIDIXG-SCIIOOL.  141 


X. 


—  Ye  couldn't  have  made  him  a  rider, 
And  then  ye  know,  boys  will  be  boys,  and  hosses, 

—  well,  hosses  is  hosses  ! 
Harte. 

|HEN  you  and  Nell  go  to  take  your 
exercise  ride,  Esmeralda,  you  must 
assume  the  air  of  having  ridden 
before  you  were  able  to  walk,  and  of 
being  so  replete  with  equestrian  knowledge 
that  the  "  acquisition  of  another  detail  would 
cause  immediate  dissolution,"  as  the  Normal 
college  girl  said  when  asked  if  she  knew  how 
to  teach.  You  must  insist  on  having  a  certain 
horse,  no  matter  how  much  inconvenience  it 
may  create,  and,  if  possible,  you  should  order 
him  twenty-four  hours  in  advance,  stipulating 
that  nobody  shall  mount  him  in  the  interval, 
and,  while  waiting  for  him  to  be  brought  in 
from  the  stable,  you  should  proclaim  that  he  is 
a  wonderfully  spirited,  not  to  say  vicious,  creat- 
ure, but  that  you  are  not  in  the  smallest  degree 


142  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOI. 

afraid  of  him.  You  should  pick  up  your  reins 
with  easy  grace,  and  having  twisted  them  into 
a  hopeless  snarl,  should  explain  to  any  specta- 
tor who  may  presume  to  smile  that  one  "  very 
soon  forgets  these  little  things,  you  know,  but 
they  will  come  back  in  a  little  while." 

Having  started,  you  must    choose    between 
steadily  trotting  or  rapidly  cantering,  absolutely 
regardless  of  the  rights  or  wishes  of  any  one 
else,  or  you  must  hold  your  horse  to  a  spiritless 
crawl,  carefully  keeping  him  in  such  a  position 
as  to    prevent  anybody  else  from  outspeeding 
you.     If  you  were  a  man,  you  would  feel  it  in- 
cumbent upon  you  to    entreat  your  master  to 
permit    you  to    change    horses    with    him,  and 
would    give    him    certain  valuable  information, 
derived  from  quarters  vaguely  specified  as  "a 
person  who   knows,"  or  "  a  man  who  rides   a 
great  deal,"  meaning  somebody  who  is  in   the 
saddle  twenty  times  a  year,  and  duly  pays  his 
livery    stable    bill    for   the    privilege,    and    you 
would  confide  to  some  other  exercise  rider,  if 
possible,  in  the  hearing  of  seven  or  eight  pupils, 
that  your  master  was  not  much  of  a  rider  after 
all,  that  the  "natural  rider  was  the  best,"  and 


IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  143 


you  would  insinuate  that  to  observe  perfection 
it  was  only  necessary  to  look  at  you.  If,  in  ad- 
dition to  this,  you  could  intimate  to  any  worried 
or  impatient  pupils  that  they  had  not  been 
properly  taught,  you  would  make  yourself  gen- 
erally beloved,  and  these  are  the  ways  of  the 
casual  exercise  rider,  male  and  female.  But 
you,  Esmeralda,  are  slightly  unfitted  for  the 
perfect  assumption  of  this  part  by  knowing 
how  certain  things  ought  to  be  done,  although 
you  cannot  do  them,  and  alas !  you  are  not  yet 
adapted  to  the  humbler  but  prettier  character  of 
the  real  exercise  rider,  who  is  thoroughly  taught, 
and  whose  every  movement  is  a  pleasure  to  be- 
hold. 

There  are  many  such  women  and  a  few  men 
who  prefer  the  ring  to  the  road  for  vari- 
ous reasons,  and  from  them  you  may  learn 
much,  both  by  observation  and  from  the  hints 
which  many  of  them  will  give  you  if  they  find 
that  you  are  anxious  to  learn,  and  that  you  are 
really  nothing  more  pretentious  than  a  solitary 
student.  So  into  the  saddle  you  go,  and  you 
and  Nell  begin  to  walk  about  in  company.  "  In 
company,"  indeed,  for  about  half  a  round,  and 


144  IN  THE  BID1NG-SCH00L. 

then  you  begin  to  fall  behind.  Touching  your 
Abdallah  lightly  with  whip  and  heel  starts  him 
into  a  trot,  and  coming  up  beside  Nell  you 
start  off  her  Arab,  and  both  horses  are  rather 
astonished  to  be  checked.  What  do  these  girls 
want,  they  think,  and  when  you  fall  behind  again, 
it  takes  two  strokes  of  the  whip  to  urge  Abdal- 
lah forward,  Arab  is  unmoved  by  your  passing 
him,  and  you  find  the  breadth  of  the  ring  divid- 
ing you  and  Nell.  You  pause,  she  turns  to  the 
right,  crosses  the  space  between  you,  turns  again 
and  is  by  your  side,  and  now  both  of  you  begin  to 
see  what  you  must  do.  Nell,  who  is  riding  on  the 
inside,  that  is  to  say  on  the  included  square,  must 
check  her  horse  very  slightly  after  turning  each 
corner,  and  you  must  hasten  yours  a  little  before 
turning,  and  a  little  after,  so  as  to  give  her  suffi- 
cient space  to  turn,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  keep 
up  with  her.  You,  being  on  her  left,  must  be  very 
careful  every  moment  to  have  a  firm  hold  of 
your  left  rein,  so  as  to  keep  away  from  her  feet, 
and  she  must  keep  especial  watch  of  her  right 
rein  in  order  to  guard  herself. 

After  each  of  you  has  learned  her  part  pretty 
well,  you  should  exchange  places  and  try  again, 


IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL.  145 

and  then  have  a  round  or  two  of  trotting,  keep- 
ing your  horses'  heads  in  line.  You  will  find 
both  of  them  very  tractable  to  this  discipline, 
because  accustomed  to  having  your  master's 
horse  keep  pace  with  them,  and  because  they 
often  go  in  pairs  at  the  music  rides,  and  you  must 
not  expect  that  an  ordinary  livery  stable  horse 
would  be  as  easily  managed.  It  is  rather  fash- 
ionable to  sneer  at  the  riding-school  horse  as 
too  mild  for  the  use  of  a  good  rider,  and  very 
likely,  while  you  and  Nell  are  patiently  trying 
your  little  experiment,  you  will  hear  a  youth 
with  very  evident  straps  on  his  trousers,  super- 
ciliously requesting  to  have  "  something  spir- 
ited "  brought  in  from  the  stable  for  him. 

"  Not  one  of  your  school  horses,  taught  to 
tramp  a  treadmill  round,  but  a  regular  flyer,"  he 
explains. 

"  Is  he  a  very  good  rider? "  you  ask  your  mas- 
ter. "  Last  time  he  was  here  I  bad  to  take  him 
off"  Abdallah,"  he  says  sadly,  and  then  he  goes 
to  the  mounting-stand  to  deny  "  the  regular 
flyer,"  and  to  tender  instead,  "  an  animal  that 
we  don't  give  to  everybody,  William."  Enter 
"  William,"  otherwise  Billy  Buttons,  whom  the 


146  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 

gentleman  covetous  of  a  flyer  soon  finds  to  be 
enough  for  him  to  manage,  because  William, 
although  accustomed  to  riders  awkward  through 
weakness,  is  not  used  to  the  manners  of  what 
is  called  the  "  three-legged  trotter"  ;  that  is  to 
say,  the  man  whose  unbent  arms  and  tightened 
reins  make  a  straight  line  from  his  shoulders  to 
his  horse's  mouth,  while  his  whole  weight  is 
thrown  upon  the  reins  by  a  backward  inclina- 
tion of  his  body. 

If  you  would  )ike  to  know  how  Billy  feels 
about  it,  Esmeralda,  bend  your  chin  toward 
your  throat,  and  imagine  a  bar  of  iron  placed 
across  your  tongue  and  pulling  your  head  up- 
ward. It  would  hurt  you,  but  you  could  raise 
your  head,  and  still  go  forward,  making  wild 
gestures  with  your  hands,  kicking,  perhaps,  in  a 
ladylike  manner,  as  Gail  Hamilton  kicked  Hali- 
carnassus,  but  by  no  means  stopping.  Now 
suppose  that  bar  of  iron  drawn  backward  by 
reins  passing  one  on  each  side  of  your  shoulders 
and  held  firmly  between  your  scapulae ;  you 
could  not  go  forward  without  almost  breaking 
your  neck,  could  you  ?  No  more  could  Billy,  if 
his  rider  would  let  out  his  reins,  bend  his  elbows, 


IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  147 

and  hold  his  hands  low,  almost  touching  his  sad- 
dle, but,  as  it  is,  he  goes  on,  and  if  he  should 
rear  by  and  by,  and  if  his  rider  should  slide  off, 
be  not  alarmed.  The  three-legged  trotter  is  not 
the  kind  of  horseman  to  cling  to  his  reins,  and 
he  will  not  be  dragged,  and  Billy  is  too  good- 
tempered  not  to  stop  the  moment  he  has  rid 
himself  of  his  tormentor.  But  while  he  is  still 
on  Billy's  back,  and  flattering  himself  that  he  is 
doing  wonders  in  subjugating  the  "  horse  that 
we  don't  give  to  everybody,"  do  you  and  Nell  go 
to  the  centre  of  the  ring  and  see  if  you  can  stop 
properly.  Pretty  well  done,  but  wait  a  moment 
before  trying  it  again,  for  it  is  not  pleasant  to  a 
horse.  Sit  still  a  few  minutes,  and  then  try  and 
see  if  you  can  back  your  horse  a  step  or  two. 

In  order  to  do  this,  it  is  not  enough  to  sit  up 
straight  and  to  say  "  back,"  or  even  to  say 
"bake,"  which,  according  to  certain  "  natural 
riders,"  is  the  secret  of  having  the  movement 
executed  properly.  You  must  draw  yourself 
up  and  lean  backward,  touching  your  horse  both 
with  your  foot  and  with  your  whip,  in  order  that 
he  may  stand  squarely,  and  you  must  raise  your 
wrists  a  little,  at  the  same  time  turning  them 


148  m  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 


inward.  The  horse  will  take  a  step,  you  must 
instantly  sit  up  straight,  lower  your  hands,  and 
then  repeat  the  movement  until  he  has  backed 
far  enough.  Four  steps  will  be  quite  as  many 
as  you  should  try  when  working  thus  by  your- 
self, because  you  do  not  wish  to  form  any  bad 
habits,  and  your  master  will  probably  find  much 
to  criticise  in  your  way  of  executing  the  move- 
ment. The  most  that  you  can  do  for  yourself 
is  to  be  sure  that  Abdallah  makes  but  one  step 
for  each  of  your  demands.  If  he  make  two, 
lower  your  hands,  and  make  him  go  forward, 
for  a  horse  which  backs  unbidden  is  always 
troublesome  and  may  sometimes  be  dangerous. 
''Just  watch  that  man  on  Billy  Buttons,'* 
says  your  master,  coming  up  to  you,  "and  make 
up  your  minds  never  to  do  anything  that  you 
see  him  do.  And  look  at  these  two  ladies  who 
are  mounting  now,  and  see  how  well  it  is  possi- 
ble to  ride  without  being  taught  in  school,  pro- 
vided one  rides  enough.  They  cannot  trot  a 
rod,  but  they  have  often  been  in  the  saddle  half 
a  day  at  a  time  in  Spanish  America,  whence 
they  come,  and  they  can  Mope,'  as  they  call  it, 
for    hours    without    drawing    rein.     They    sit 


IN  THE  RIDIXG-SCHOOL.  149 

almost,  but  not  quite  straight,  and  they  have 
strength  enough  in  their  hands  to  control  any 
of  our  horses,  although  they  complain  that 
these  English  bits  are  poor  things  compared 
to  the  Spanish  bit.  You  see,  they  can  stay 
on,  although  they  cannot  ride  scientifically." 

"And  isn't  that  best  ?"  asked  Nell. 

"It  is  better,"  corrects  the  master.  "The 
very  best  is  to  stay  on  because  one  rides  scien- 
tifically, and  that  is  what  I  hope  that  you  two 
will  do  by  and  by.  There's  that  girl  who  always 
brings  in  a  bag  of  groceries  for  her  horse  ! 
Apples  this  time  !  " 

"  Isn't  it  a  good  thing  to  give  a  horse  a  tid- 
bit of  some  kind  after  a  ride  ?  "  asked  Nell. 

"  '  Good,'  if  it  be  your  own  horse,  but  not  good 
in  a  riding-school.  It  tends  to  make  the  horses 
impatient  for  the  end  of  a  ride,  and  sometimes 
makes  them  jealous  of  one  another  at  the  mount- 
ing-stand, and  keeps  them  there  so  long  as  to 
inconvenience  others  who  wish  to  dismount. 
Besides,  careless  pupils,  like  that  girl,  have  a 
way  of  tossing  a  paper  bag  into  the  ring  after 
the  horse  has  emptied  it,  and  although  we 
always  pick  it  up  as  soon  as  possible,  it  may 


150  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

cause  another  horse  to  shy.  A  dropped  hand- 
kerchief is  also  dangerous,  for  a  horse  is  a  sus- 
picious creature,  and  fears  anything  novel  as  a 
woman  dreads  a  mouse." 

What  is  the  trouble  on  the  mounting-stand  ? 
Nothing,  except  that  a  tearful  little  girl  wants 
"  her  dear  Daisy  ;  she  never  rides  anything  else, 
and  she  hates  Clifton,  and  does  not  like  Rex 
and  Jewel  canters,  and  she  wants  Da-a-isy  ! ' 

"  But  it  is  better  for  you  to  change  horses 
now  and  then,  and  Daisy  is  not  fit  to  be  in  the 
ring  to-day,"  says  your  master.  "Jewel  is  very 
easy  and  good-tempered.     Will  you  have  him  ?" 

"No,  I'll  have  Abdallah." 

"  A  lady  is  riding  him." 

"Well,  I  want  him." 

It  is  against  rules  for  your  master  to  suggest 
such  a  thing  to  you,  Esmeralda,  but  suppose 
you  go  up  to  the  mounting-stand  and  offer  to 
take  Jewel  yourself  and  let  her  have  Abdallah. 
You  do  it ;  your  master  puts  you  on  Jewel,  and 
sends  the  wilful  little  girl  away  on  Abdallah, 
and  then  comes  up  to  you  and  Nell,  thanks  you, 
and  says,  "  It  was  very  good  of  you,  but  she 
must  learn  some  day  to  ride  everything,  and  I 
shall  tell  her  so,  and  next  time  !  " 


7,V  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  151 

He  looks  capable  of  giving  her  Hector,  Irish 
Hector,  who  is  wilful  as  the  wind,  but  in  reward 
for  your  goodness  he  bestows  a  little  warning 
about  your  whips  upon  Nell,  who  has  a  fancy 
for  carrying  hers  slantwise  across  her  body,  so 
that  both  ends  show  from  the  back,  and  the 
whole  whip  is  quite  useless  as  far  as  the  horse 
is  concerned,  although  picturesque  enough  with 
its  loop  of  bright  ribbon. 

11  It  makes  one  think  of  a  circus  picture,"  he 
says  ;  "  and,  Miss  Esmeralda,  don't  hold  your 
whip  with  the  lash  pointing  outward,  to  tickle 
Miss  Nell's  horse,  and  to  make  you  look  like  an 
American  Mr.  Briggs  'going  to  take  a  run  with 
the  Myopias,  don't  you  know.'  Isn't  this  a 
pretty  horse  ? " 

"  Well,  I  don't  know,"  you  say  frankly  ;  "  I'm 
no  judge.    I  don't  know  anything  about  a  horse." 

For  once  your  master  loses  his  self-posses- 
sion, and  stares  unreservedly.  "  Child,"  he 
says,  "  I  never,  never  before  saw  anybody  in 
this  ring  who  didn't  know  all  about  a  horse." 

"  Well,  but  I  really  don't,  you  know." 

"No,  but  nobody  ever  says  so.  Now  just 
hear  this  new  pupil  instruct  me." 


152  IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL. 

The  new  pupil,  who  thinks  a  riding  habit 
should  be  worn  over  two  or  three  skirts,  and 
who  is  consequently  sitting  with  the  aerial  ele- 
gance of  a  feather  bed,  is  riding  with  her  snaffle 
rein,  the  curb  tied  on  her  horse's  neck,  and  is 
clasping  it  by  the  centre,  allowing  the  rest  to 
hang  loose,  so  that  Clifton,  supposing  that  she 
means  to  give  him  liberty  to  browse,  is  looking 
for  grass  among  the  tan.  Not  finding  it,  he 
snorts  occasionally,  whereupon  she  calls  him 
"  poor  thing,"  and  tells  him  that  "  it  is  a 
warm  day,  and  that  he  should  rest,  so  he 
should  !  " 

"  Your  reins  are  too  long,"  says  your  master. 

"  Do  you  mean  that  they  are  too  long,  or  that 
I  am  holding  them  so  as  to  make  them  too 
long,"  she  inquires,  in  a  precise  manner. 

"  They  are  right  enough.  Our  saddlers  know 
their  business.  But  you  are  holding  them  so 
that  you  might  as  well  have  none.  Shorten 
them,  and  make  him  bring  his  head  up  in  its 
proper  place." 

"But  I  think  it's  cruel  to  treat  him  so,  when 
he's  tired,  poor  thing !  I  always  hold  my  reins 
in  the  middle  when  I'm  driving,  and  my  horse 


IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  153 

goes  straight  enough.     This  one  seems  dizzy. 
He  goes  round  and  round." 

"  He  wouldn't  if  he  were  in  harness  with  two 
shafts  to  keep  his  body  straight  and  somebody 
behind  him  to  keep  his  head  straight" — 

"  But  then  why  wouldn't  it  be  a  good  thing 
to  have  some  kind  of  a  light  shaft  for  a  begin- 
ner's horse  ?  " 

"  It  would  be  a  neat  addition  to  a  side  sad- 
dle," says  your  master,  "  but  shorten  your  reins. 
Take  one  in  each  hand.  Leave  about  eight 
inches  of  rein  between  your  hands.  There  ! 
See.     Now  guide  your  horse." 

He  leaves  her,  in  order  that  he  may  enjoy  the 
idea  of  the  side  saddle  with  shafts,  and  she 
promptly  resumes  her  old  attitude  which  she  feels 
is  elegant,  and  when  Clifton  wanders  up  beside 
Abdallah,  she  sweetly  asks  Nell,  "  Is  this  your 
first  lesson  ?  Do  you  think  this  horse  is  good  ? 
The  master  wants  me  to  pull  on  my  reins,  but 
I  think  it  is  inhuman,  and  I  won't,  and  " —  but 
Clifton  strays  out  of  hearing,  and  you  arouse 
yourselves  to  remember  that  you  are  having 
more  fun  than  work. 

There  is  plenty  of  room  in  the  ring,  now,  so 


154  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 

you  change  hands,  and  circle  to  the  left,  first 
walking  and  then  trotting,  slowly  at  first,  and 
then  rapidly,  finding  to  your  pleasant  surprise, 
that,  just  as  you  begin  to  think  that  you  can  go 
no  further,  you  are  suddenly  endowed  with  new 
strength  and  can  make  two  more  rounds.  "  A 
good  half  mile,"  your  master  says,  approvingly, 
as  you  fall  into  a  walk  and  pass  him,  and  then 
you  do  a  volte  or  two,  and  one  little  round  at  a 
canter,  and  then  walk  five  minutes,  and  dis- 
mount to  find  the  rider  of  the  alleged  William 
assuring  John,  the  head  groom,  that  that  re- 
doubtable animal  needs  "  taking  down." 

"  Shall  ride  him  with  spurs  next  time,"  he 
says.  "  I  can  manage  him,  but  he  would  be  too 
much  for  most  men,"  and  away  he  goes  and  a 
flute-voiced  little  boy  of  eight  mounts  William, 
retransformed  into  Billy  Buttons,  and  guides 
him  like  a  lamb,  and  you  escape  up  stairs  to 
laugh.  But  you  have  no  time  for  this  before 
the  merciful  young  woman  enters  to  say 
that  she  is  going  to  another  school,  where 
she  can  do  as  she  pleases  and  have  better 
horses,  too,  and  the  more  you  and  Nell  assure 
her   that  there  is  no  school  in  which  she  can 


m  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  155 

learn  without  obedience,  and  that  her  horse  was 
too  good,  if  anything,  the  more  determined  she 
becomes,  and  soon  you  wisely  desist. 

As  she  departs,  "  Oh,  dear,"  you  say,  "  I 
thought  there  was  nothing  but  fun  at  riding- 
school,  and  just  see  all  these  queer  folks." 

"  My  dear,"  says  philosophic  Nell,  "  they 
are  part  of  the  fun.  And  we  are  fun  to  the 
old  riders ;  and  we  are  all  fun  to  our 
master." 

Here  you  find  yourselves  enjoying  a  bit  of 
fun  from  which  your  master  is  shut  out,  for 
three  or  four  girls  come  up  from  the  ring  to- 
gether, and,  not  seeing  you,  hidden  behind  your 
screens,  two,  in  whom  you  and  Nell  have 
already  recognized  saleswomen  from  whom  you 
have  more  than  once  bought  laces,  begin  to  talk 
to  overawe  the  others. 

"  My  deah,"  says  one,  "  now  I  think  of  it,  I 
weally  don't  like  the  setting  of  these  diamonds 
that  you  had  given  you  last  night.  It's  too 
heavy,  don't  you  think  ?  " 

The  other  replies  in  a  tone  which  would 
cheat  a  man,  but  in  which  you  instantly  detect 
an  accent  of    surprise  and  a  determination  to 


156  IN  THE    HIDING-SCHOOL. 

play  up  to  her  partner  as  well  as  possible,  that 
she  "  liked  it  very  well." 

"  I  should  have  them  reset,"  says  the  former 
speaker.  "  Like  mine,  you  know  ;  light  and  airy. 
Deah  me,  I  usedn't  to  care  for  diamonds,  and 
now  I'm  puffectly  infatooated  with  them,  don't 
you  know  !  My  !  "  she  screams,  catching  sight 
of  a  church  clock,  and,  relapsing  into  her  every- 
day speech  :  "  Half-past  four  !  And  I  am  due 
at  "  —  [An  awkward  pause.]  "  I  promised  to 
return  at  four !  " 

There  is  no  more  talk  about  diamonds,  but  a 
hurried  scramble  to  dress,  and  a  precipitate  de- 
parture, after  which  one  of  the  other  ladies  is 
heard  to  say  very  distinctly  :  "  I  remember  that 
girl  as  a  pupil  when  I  was  teaching  in  a  public 
school,  and  I  know  all  about  her.  Salary,  four 
dollars  a  week.     Diamonds  !  " 

"  She  registered  at  the  desk  as  Mrs.  Some- 
thing," rejoins  the  other.  "She  only  came  in 
for  one  ride,  and  so  they  gave  her  a  horse  with- 
out looking  up  her  reference,  but  one  of  the  mas- 
ters knew  her  real  name.  Poor  little  goosey  ! 
She  has  simply  spoiled  her  chance  of  ever  be- 
coming a  regular  pupil,  no   matter  how  much 


IX  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  157 

she  may  desire  it.  No  riding  master  will  give 
lessons  to  a  person  who  behaves  so.  He  would 
lose  more  than  he  gained  by  it,  no  matter  how 
long  she  took  lessons.  And  they  knew  every- 
body in  a  riding-school,  although  they  won't 
gossip.  I'd  as  soon  try  to  cheat  a  Pinkerton 
agency." 

"I  know  one  thing,"  Nell  says,  as  you  walk 
homeward  *.  "  I'm  going  to  take  an  exercise  ride 
between  every  two  lessons,  and  I'm  going 
to  ride  a  new  horse  every  time,  if  I  can  get  him, 
and  I'm  going  to  do  what  I'm  told,  and  I  shall 
not  stop  trotting  at  the  next  lesson,  even  if  I 
feel  as  if  I  should  drop  out  of  the  saddle.  I've 
learned  so  much  from  an  exercise  ride." 


158  m  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL. 


XI. 


Ride  as  though  you  were  flying. 

Mrs.  Norton. 


ROSS,"  Esmeralda?  Why?  Because 
having  had  seven  lessons  of  various 
sorts,  and  two  rides,  you  do  not 
feel  yourself  to  be  a  brilliant  horse- 
woman ?  Because  you  cannot  trot  more  than 
half  a  mile,  and  because  you  cannot  flatter 
yourself  that  it  would  be  prudent  for  you  to 
imitate  your  favorite  English  heroines,  and  to 
order  your  horse  brought  around  to  the  hall 
door  for  a  solitary  morning  canter?  And  you 
really  think  that  you  do  well  to  be  angry,  and 
that,  had  your  teacher  been  as  discreet  and  as 
entirely  admirable  as  you  feel  yourself  to  be, 
you  would  be  more  skilful  and  better  informed  ? 
Very  well,  continue  to  think  so,  but  pray  do 
not  flatter  yourself  that  your  mental  attitude 
has  the  very  smallest  fragment  of  an  original 
line,  curve  or  angle.     Thus,  and  not  otherwise, 


IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  159 

do  all  youthful  equestrians  feel,  excepting  those 
doubly-dyed  in  conceit,  who  fancy  that  they 
have  mastered  a  whole  art  in  less  than  twelve 
hours.  You  certainly  are  not  a  good  rider,  and 
yet  you  have  received  instruction  on  almost 
every  point  in  regard  to  which  you  would  need 
to  know  anything  in  an  ordinary  ride  on  a  good 
road.  You  have  not  yet  been  taught  every  one 
of  these  things,  certainly,  for  she  who  has  been 
really  taught  a  physical  or  mental  feat,  can 
execute  it  at  will,  but  you  have  been  partly 
instructed,  and  it  is  yours  to  see  that  the  in- 
struction is  not  wasted,  by  not  being  either 
repeated,  or  faithfully  reduced  to  practice. 
Remember  clever  Mrs.  Wesley's  answer  to  the 
unwise  person  who  said  in  reproof,  "  You  have 
told  that  thing  to  that  child  thirty  times." 
"  Had  I  told  it  but  twenty-nine,"  replied  the 
indomitable  Susanna,  "they  had  been  wasted." 
What  you  need  now  is  practice,  preferably  in 
the  ring  with  a  teacher,  but  if  you  cannot 
afford  that,  without  a  teacher,  and  road  rides 
whenever  you  can  have  them  on  a  safe  horse, 
taken  from  a  school  stable,  if  possible,  with 
companions    like    yourself,  intent    upon    study 


1G0  IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL. 

and  enjoyment,  not  upon  displaying  their 
habits,  or,  if  they  be  men,  the  airs  of  their 
horses,  and  the  correctness  of  their  equipment, 
or  upon  racing. 

As  for  the  solitary  canter,  when  the  kindly 
Fates  shall  endow  that  respectable  American 
sovereign,  your  father,  with  a  park  somewhat 
bigger  than  the  seventy-five  square  feet  of 
ground  inclosed  by  the  iron  railing  before  his 
present  palace,  it  will  be  time  enough  to  think 
about  that ;  but  you  can  no  more  venture  upon 
a  public  road  alone  than  an  English  lady  could, 
and  indeed,  your  risk  in  doing  so  would  be 
even  greater  than  hers.  Why  ?  Because  in 
rural  England  all  men  and  all  boys,  even  the 
poorest  and  the  humblest,  seem  to  know  in- 
stinctively how  a  horse  should  be  equipped. 
True,  a  Wordsworth  and  a  Coleridge  did  hesi- 
tate for  hours  over  the  problem  of  adjusting  a 
horse  collar,  but  Johnny  Ragamuffin,  from  the 
slums,  or  Jerry  Hickathrift,  of  some  shire  with 
the  most  uncouth  of  dialects,  can  adjust  a  slip- 
ping saddle,  or,  in  a  hand's  turn,  can  remove  a 
stone  which  is  torturing  a  hoof. 

Not  so  your  American  wayfarer,  city  bred  or 


IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL.  161 

country  grown ;  it  will  be  wonderful  if  he  can 
lengthen  a  stirrup  leather,  and,  before  allowing 
such  an  one  to  tighten  a  girth  for  you,  you 
would  better  alight  and  take  shelter  behind  a 
tree,  and  a  good  large  tree,  because  he  may 
drive  your  horse  half  frantic  by  his  well-meant 
unskilfulness.  Besides,  Mrs.  Grundy  very  se- 
verely frowns  on  the  woman  who  rides  alone, 
and  there  is  no  appeal  from  Mrs.  Grundy's 
wisdom.  Sneer  at  her,  deride  her,  try,  if  you 
will,  to  undermine  her  authority,  but  obey  her 
commands  and  yield  to  her  judgment  if  you 
would  have  the  respect  of  men,  and,  what  is 
of  more  consequence,  the  fair  speech  of  women. 
And  so,  Esmeralda,  as  you  really  have  no  cause 
for  repining,  go  away  to  your  class  lesson,  which 
has  a  double  interest  for  you  and  Nell,  because 
of  the  wicked  pleasure  which  you  derive  from 
hearing  the  master  quietly  crush  the  society 
young  lady  with  unanswerable  logic. 

You  have  seen  him  with  a  class  of  obedient, 
well-bred  little  girls,  and  know  how  persuasive 
he  can  be  to  a  child  who  is  really  frightened. 
You  have  seen  him  surrounded  by  a  class  of 
eager  small  boys,  and  beset  with  a  clamorous 


162  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 

shout  of,  "  Plea-ease  let  us  mount  from  the 
ground."  You  have  heard  his  peremptory 
"No,"  and  then,  as  they  turned  away  discom- 
fited, have  noted  how  kindly  was  his  "  I  will 
tell  you  why,  my  dear  boys.  It  is  because  your 
legs  are  too  short.  Wait  until  you  are  tall, 
then  you  shall  mount."  You  know  that  when 
Versatilia,  having  attended  a  party  the  previous 
evening  and  arisen  at  five  o'clock  to  practise 
Chopin,  and  then  worked  an  hour  at  gymnas- 
tics, could  not,  from  pure  weariness,  manage 
her  horse,  how  swift  was  his  bound  across  the 
ring,  and  how  carefully  he  lifted  her  from  the 
saddle,  and  gave  her  over  to  the  ministrations 
of  the  wise  fairy.  You  know  that  any  teacher 
must  exact  respect  from  his  scholars,  and  you 
detect  method  in  all  the  little  sallies  which 
almost  drive  the  society  young  lady  to  madness, 
but  this  morning  it  is  your  turn. 

You  do,  one  after  the  other,  all  the  things 
against  which  you  have  been  warned,  and,  when 
corrected,  you  look  so  very  dismal  and  discour- 
aged that  the  Scotch  teacher  comes  quietly  to 
your  side  and  rides  with  you,  and,  feeling  that 
he  will  prevent  your  horse  from  doing  anything 


IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL.  163 

dangerous,  you  begin  to  mend  your  ways,  when 
suddenly  you  hear  the  master  proclaim  in  a 
voice  which,  to  your  horrified  ears,  seems  audi- 
ble to  the  whole  universe:  "Ah,  Miss  Esmer- 
alda !  she  cannot  ride,  she  cannot  do  her  best, 
unless  she  has  a  gentleman  beside  her."  In 
fancy's  eye  you  seem  to  see  yourself  blushing 
for  that  criticism  during  the  remainder  of  your 
allotted  days,  and  you  almost  hope  that  they  will 
be  few.  You  know  that  every  girl  in  the  class 
will  repeat  it  to  other  girls,  and  even  to  men, 
and  possibly  even  to  Theodore,  and  that  you 
will  never  be  allowed  to  forget  it.  Cannot  ride 
or  do  your  best  without  a  gentleman,  indeed  ! 
You  could  do  very  well  without  one  gentleman 
whom  you  know,  you  think  vengefully,  and 
then  you  turn  to  the  kindly  Scotch  teacher, 
and,  with  true  feminine  justice,  endeavor  to 
punish  him  for  another's  misdeeds  by  telling 
him  that,  if  he  please,  you  would  prefer  to  ride 
alone.  As  he  reins  back,  you  feel  a  decided 
sinking  of  the  heart  and  again  become  con- 
scious that  you  are  oddly  incapable  of  doing 
anything  properly,  and  then,  suddenly,  it  flashes 
upon  you  that  the  master  was  right  in  his  judg- 


164  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

ment,  and  you  fly  into  a  small  fury  of  determi- 
nation to  show  him  that  you  can  exist  "without 
a  gentleman."  Down  go  your  hands,  you 
straighten  your  shoulders,  adjust  yourself  to  a 
nicety,  think  of  yourself  and  of  your  horse 
with  all  the  intensity  of  which  you  are  capable, 
and  make  two  or  three  rounds  without  reproof. 

"Now,"  says  the  teacher,  "we  will  try  a 
rather  longer  trot  than  usual,  and  when  any 
lady  is  tired  she  may  go  to  the  centre  of  the 
ring.     Prepare  to  trot !     Trot !  " 

The  leader's  eyes  sparkle  with  delight  as  she 
allows  her  good  horse,  after  a  round  or  two,  to 
take  his  own  speed,  the  teacher  continues  his 
usual  fire  of  truthful  comments  as  to  shoulders, 
hands  and  reins,  and  one  after  another,  the 
girls  leave  the  track,  and  only  the  leader  and 
you  remain,  she,  calm  and  cool  as  an  iceberg, 
you,  flushed,  and  compelled  to  correct  your 
position  at  almost  every  stride  of  your  horse, 
sometimes  obliged  to  sit  close  for  half  a  round, 
but  with  your  whole  Yankee  soul  set  upon 
trotting  until  your  teacher  bids  you  cease. 
Can  you  believe  your  ears  ? 

"  Brava,  Miss  Esmeralda !  "  shouts  the  mas- 


IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  165 

ten  "  Go  in  again.  That  is  the  way.  Ah,  go 
in  again  !  That  is  the  way  the  rider  is  made  ! 
Again !     Ah,  brava  !  " 

"  Prepare  to  whoa !  Whoa ! "  says  the  teacher, 
and  both  he  and  your  banished  cavalier  con- 
gratulate you,  and  it  dawns  upon  you  that  the 
society  young  lady  is  not  the  only  person  whom 
the  master  understands,  and  is  able  to  manage. 
However,  you  are  grateful,  and  even  pluck  up 
courage  to  salute  him  when  next  you  pass  him  ; 
but  alas !  that  does  not  soften  his  heart  so 
thoroughly  that  he  does  not  warningly  ejaculate, 
"  Right  foot,"  and  then  comes  poor  Nell's  turn. 
She,  reared  in  a  select  private  school  for  young 
ladies,  and  having  no  idea  of  proper  discipline, 
ventures  to  explain  the  cause  of  some  one  of 
her  misdeeds,  instead  of  correcting  it  in  silence. 
She  does  it  courteously,  but  is  met  with, 
"Ah-h-h!  Miss  Esmeralda,  you  know  Miss 
Nell.  Is  it  not  with  her  on  foot  as  it  is  on 
horseback?     Does  she  not  argue?  " 

You  shake  your  head  severely  and  loyally, 
but  brave  Nell  speaks  out  frankly,  "Yes,  sir;  I 
do.     But  I  won't  asrain." 

"I  would  have  liked  to  ride  straight  at  him," 


166  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

she  confides  to  you  afterwards,  "  but  he  was 
right.  Still,  it  is  rather  astounding  to  hear  the 
truth  sometimes." 

And  now,  for  the  first  time,  you  are  allowed 
to  ride  in  pairs,  and  the  word  "interval,"  mean- 
ing the  space  between  two  horses  moving  on 
parallel  lines,  is  introduced,  and  you  and  Nell, 
who  are  together,  congratulate  yourselves  on 
having  in  your  exercise  ride  learned  something 
of  the  manner  in  which  the  interval  may  be 
preserved  exactly,  for  it  is  a  greater  trouble  to 
the  others  than  that  "distance"  which  you  have 
been  told  a  thousand  times  to  "keep."  You 
have  but  very  little  of  this  practice,  however, 
before  you  are  again  formed  in  file,  and  directed 
to  "  Prepare  to  volte  singly  !  " 

When  this  is  done  perfectly,  it  is  a  very  pretty 
manoeuvre,  and,  the  pupils  returning  to  their 
places  at  the  same  moment,  the  column  con- 
tinues on  its  way  with  its  distances  perfectly 
preserved,  but  as  no  two  of  your  class  make 
circles  of  the  same  size,  or  move  at  similar 
rates  of  speed,  your  small  procession  finds  itself 
in  hopeless  disorder,  and  in  trying  to  rearrange 
yourselves,  each  one  of  you  discovers  that  she 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  167 

has  yet  something  to  learn  about  turning. 
However,  after  a  little  trot  and  the  usual  clos- 
ing walk,  the  lesson  ends,  and  you  retire  from 
the  ring,  with  the  exception  of  Nell,  who,  hav- 
ing been  taught  by  an  amateur  to  leap  in  a  more 
or  less  unscientific  manner,  has  begged  the  mas- 
ter to  give  her  "one  little  lesson,"  a  proposi- 
tion to  which  he  has  consented. 

The  hurdle  is  brought  out,  placed  half-way 
down  one  of  the  long  sides  of  the  school,  and 
Nell  walks  her  horse  quietly  down  the  other, 
turns  him,  turns  him  again  as  she  comes  on 
the  second  long  side,  shakes  her  reins  lightly, 
putting  him  to  a  canter,  and  is  over  —  "beau- 
tifully," you  say  to  yourself,  as  you  watch  her 
enviously. 

"  You  did  not  fall  off,"  the  master  comments, 
coiling  the  lash  of  the  long  whip  with  which  he 
has  stood  beside  the  hurdle  during  Miss  Nell's 
performance,  "but  you  did  not  guard  yourself 
against  falling  when  you  went  up,  and  had  you 
had  some  horses,  you  might  have  come  down 
before  he  did,  although  that  is  not  so  easy  for  a 
lady  as  it  is  for  a  man.  When  you  start  for 
a  leap,  you  must  draw  your  right  foot  well  back, 


168  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 

so  as  to  clasp  the  pommel  with  your  knee,  and, 
just  as  the  horse  stops  to  spring  upward,  you 
must  lean  back  and  lift  both  hands  a  little,  and 
then,  when  he  springs,  straighten  yourself,  feel 
proud  and  haughty,  if  you  can,  and,  as  he  comes 
down,  lean  back  once  more  and  raise  your  hands 
again,  because  your  horse  will  drop  on  his  fore 
legs,  and  you  desire  him  to  lift  them,  that  he 
may  go   forward   before  you  do.     You    should 
practise  this,  counting  one,  as  you  lean   back- 
ward,   drawing    but    not    turning    the    hands 
backward  and  upward  ;  two,  as  you  straighten 
yourself  with  the  hands  down,  and  three,  as  you 
repeat  the  first  movement;  and,  except  in  mak- 
ing a  water  jump,  or  some  other  very  long  leap, 
the  'two'  will  be  the  shortest  beat,  as  it   is   in 
the  waltz.     And,  although  you   must  use  some 
strength   in   raising  your  hands,  you  must  not 
raise  them   too   high,   and   you   must   not   lean 
your  head  forward  or  draw  your  elbows  back. 
A  jockey  may,  when  riding  a  steeplechase  for 
money,  but  he   will  be  angry  with   himself  for 
having  to  do  it,  and  a  lady  must  not.     I  would 
rather  that  you  did   not  leap  again   to-day,  be- 
cause  what   I   told   you  will   only  confuse  you 


IN  THE  HIDING- SCHOOL.  169 

until  you  have  time  to  think  it  over  and  to  prac- 
tise it  by  yourself  in  a  chair.  And  I  would 
rather  that  you  did  not  leap  again  in  your  own 
way,  until  you  have  let  me  see  you  do  it  once  or 
twice  more,  at  least." 

"You  did  not  have  to  whip  my  horse  to  make 
him  leap,"  Nell  says. 

"The  whip  was  not  to  strike  him,  but  to 
show  him  what  was  ready  for  him  if  he  refused," 
says  the  master.  "One  must  never  permit  a 
horse  to  refuse  without  punishing  him,  for  other- 
wise he  may  repeat  the  fault  when  mounted  by 
a  poor  rider,  and  a  dangerous  accident  may  fol- 
low. One  must  never  brutalize  a  horse  —  in- 
deed, no  one  but  a  brute  does  —  but  one  must 
rule  him." 

By  this  time  he  has  taken  Nell  from  her 
saddle  and  is  in  the  reception  room,  where  he 
finds  you  grouped  and  gazing  at  him  in  a  man- 
ner rather  trying  even  to  his  soldierly  gravity, 
and  decidedly  amusing  to  the  wise  fairy,  who 
glances  at  him  with  a  laugh  and  betakes  herself 
to  her  own  little  nest. 

"My  young  ladies,"  he  says,  "  I  will  show 
you  one  little  leap,  not  high,  you  know,  but  a 


170  IN  THE  BIDING-SCIIOOL. 

little  leap  sitting  on  a  side  saddle,"  and,  going 
out,  he  takes  Nell's  horse,  and  in  a  minute  you 
see  him  sailing  through  the  air,  light  as  a  bird, 
and  without  any  of  the  encouraging  shouts  used 
by  some  horsemen.  It  is  only  a  little  leap,  but 
it  impresses  your  illogical  minds  as  no  skilful- 
ness  in  the  voltes  and  no  haute  hole  airs  could 
do,  for  leaping  is  the  crowning  accomplishment 
of  riding  in  the  eyes  of  all  your  male  friends 
except  the  cavalryman,  and  when  he  returns  to 
the  reception  room,  you  linger  in  the  hope  of  a 
little  lecture,  and  you  are  not  disappointed. 

"My  young  ladies,"  he  says,  "at  the  point  at 
which  you  are  in  the  equestrian  art,  what  you 
should  do  is  to  keep  doing  what  you  know, 
over  and  over  again,  no  matter  if  you  do  it 
wrong.  Keep  doing  and  doing,  and  by  and  by 
you  will  do  it  right.  I  have  tried  that  plan 
of  perfecting  each  step  before  undertaking  an- 
other, but  it  is  of  no  use  with  American  ladies. 
You  will  not  do  things  at  all,  unless  you  can  do 
them  well,  you  say.  That  is  as  if  you  were  to 
go  to  a  ball,  and  were  to  say,  '  No,  I  have  taken 
lessons,  I  have  danced  in  school,  but  I  am  afraid 
I  cannot  do  so  well  as  some  others.     I  will  not 


IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  171 

dance  here.'  That  would  not  be  the  way  to  do. 
Dance,  and  again  dance,  and  if  you  make  a  little 
mistake,  dance  again  !  The  mistake  is  of  the 
past ;  it  is  not  matter  for  troubling  ;  dance  again, 
and  do  not  make  it  again.  And  so  of  riding,  ride, 
and  again  ride  !  Try  all  ways.  Take  your  foot 
out  of  the  stirrup  sometimes,  and  slip  it  back 
again  without  stopping  your  horse,  and  when  you 
can  do  it  at  the  walk,  do  it  at  the  trot,  and  keep 
rising !  And  learn  not  to  be  afraid  to  keep 
trotting  after  you  are  a  little  tired.  Keep  trot- 
ting !  Keep  trotting !  Then  you  will  know 
real  pleasure,  and  you  will  not  hurt  your  horses, 
as  you  will  if  you  pull  them  up  just  as  they 
begin  to  enjoy  the  pace.  And  then"  —  looking 
very  hard  at  nothing  at  all,  and  not  at  you, 
Esmeralda,  as  your  guilty  soul  fancies  —  "and 
then,  gentlemen  will  not  be  afraid  to  ride  with 
you  for  fear  of  spoiling  their  horses  by  checking 
them  too  often." 

And  with  this  he  goes  away,  and  oh  !  Esmer- 
alda, does  not  the  society  young  lady  make  life 
pleasant  for  you  and  Nell  in  the  dressing-room, 
until  the  beauty  attracts  general  attention  by 
stating  that  she  has  had  an  hour  of  torment ! 


172  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 

"  Perhaps  you  have  not  noticed  that  most  of 
these  saddles  are  buckskin,"  she  continues;  "I 
did  not,  until  I  found  myself  slipping  about  on 
mine  to  day  as  if  it  were  glazed,  and  lo !  it  was 
pigskin,  and  that  made  the  difference.  I  would 
not  have  it  changed,  because  the  Texan  is  always 
sneering  at  English  pigskin,  and  I  wanted  to 
learn  to  ride  on  it;  but,  until  the  last  quarter 
of  the  hour,  I  expected  to  slip  off.  I  rather 
think  I  should  have,"  she  adds,  "only  just  as  I 
was  ready  to  slip  off  on  one  side,  something 
would  occur  to  make  me  slip  to  the  other.  I 
shall  not  be  afraid  of  pigskin  again,  and  you 
would  better  try  it,  every  one  of  you.  Suppose 
you  should  get  ahorse  from  a  livery  stable  some 
day  with  one  of  those  slippery  saddles  !  ' 

"  I  am  thinking  of  buying  a  horse,"  says  the 
society  young  lady ;  "  but  the  master  says  that 
I  do  not  know  enough  to  ride  a  beast  that  has 
been  really  trained.     Fancy  that !  " 

"  And  all  the  authorities  agree  with  him," 
says  Versatilia,  who  has  accumulated  a  small 
library  of  books  on  equestrianism  since  she 
began  to  take  lessons.  "Your  horse  ought  not 
to    know   much    more   than    you    do  —  for   if 


W  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  173 

he   do,    you   will   find    him    perfectly   unman- 
ageable." 

Here  you  and  Nell  flee  on  the  wings  of  dis- 
cretion. The  daring  of  the  girl !  To  tell  the 
society  young  lady  that  a  horse  may  know  more 
than  she  does  ! 


174  IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL. 


XII. 

Costly  thy  habit  as  thy  purse  can  buy. 

Shakespeare. 

jND  now,  Esmeralda,  having  determined 
to  put  your  master's  advice  into  prac- 
tice and  to  "keep  riding,"  you  think 
that  you  must  have  a  habit  in  order  to 
be  ready  to  take  to  the  road  whenever  you  have 
an  opportunity,  and  to  be  able  to  accompany 
Theodore,  should  he  desire  to  repeat  your  music- 
ride  ?  And  you  would  like  to  know  just  what 
it  will  cost,  and  everything  about  it?  And  first, 
what  color  can  you  have  ? 

You  "can"  have  any  color,  Esmeralda,  and 
you  "  can  "  have  any  material,  for  that  matter. 
Queen  Guinevere  wore  grass  green  silk,  and  if 
her  skirt  were  as  long  as  those  worn  by  Matilda 
of  Flanders,  Norman  William's  wife,  centuries 
after,  her  women  must  have  spent  several  hours 
daily  in  mending  it,  unless  she  had  a  new  habit 
for  every  ride,  or  unless  the  English  forest  roads 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  175 

were  wider  than  they  are  to-day.  But  all  the 
ladies  of  Arthur's  court  seem  to  have  ridden  in 
their  ordinary  dress.  Enid,  for  instance,  was 
arrayed  in  the  faded  silk  which  had  been  her 
house-dress  and  walking-dress  in  girlhood,  when 
she  performed  her  little  feat  of  guiding  six  armor- 
laden  horses.  Queen  Elizabeth  and  Mary  Stuart 
seem  to  have  liked  velvet,  either  green  or  black, 
and  to  have  adorned  it  with  gold  lace,  and  both 
probably  took  their  fashions  from  France  ;  the 
young  woman  in  the  Scotch  ballad  was  "all  in 
cramoisie  "  ;  Kate  Peyton  wore  scarlet  broad- 
cloth, but  secretly  longed  for  purple,  having 
been  told  by  a  rival,  who  probably  found  her 
too  pretty  in  scarlet,  that  green  or  purple  was 
"her  color." 

There  are  crimson  velvet  and  dark  blue  velvet 
and  Lincoln  green  velvet  habits  without  end  in 
fiction,  and  in  the  records  of  English  royal  ward- 
robes, but,  beautiful  as  velvet  is,  and  exquisitely 
becoming  as  it  would  be,  you  would  better  not 
indulge  your  artistic  taste  by  wearing  it.  It 
would  cost  almost  three  times  as  much  as  cloth ; 
it  would  be  nearly  impossible  to  make  a  well 
fitting  modern  skirt  of  it,  and  it  would  be  worn 


176  IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL. 

into  ugliness  by  a  very  few  hours  of  trotting. 
Be  thankful,  therefore,  that  fashion  says  that 
woollen  cloth  is  the  most  costly  material  which 
may  be  used. 

In  India,  during  the  last  two  or  three  seasons, 
Englishwomen  have  worn  London-made  habits 
of  very  light  stuffs,  mohairs  and  fine  Bradford 
woollens,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  any  Ameri- 
can woman  should  not  do  the  same.  In  Hyde 
Park,  for  three  summers,  in  those  early  morning 
hours  when  some  of  the  best  riders  go,  attended 
by  a  groom,  to  enjoy  something  more  lively  than 
the  afternoon  parade,  skirts  of  light  tweed  and 
covert  coats  of  the  same  material  worn  over 
white  silk  shirts,  with  linen  collars  and  a  man's 
tie,  have  made  their  wearers  look  cool  and  com- 
fortable, and  duck  covert  jackets,  with  ordinary 
woollen  skirts  and  linen  shirts  have  had  a  similar 
effect,  but  American  women  have  rather  hesi- 
tated as  to  adopting  these  fashions,  lest  some 
one,  beholding,  should  say  that  they  were  not 
correct.  Thus  did  they  once  think  that  they 
must  wear  bonnets  with  strings  in  church,  no 
matter  what  remonstrance  was  made  by  the 
thermometer,  or  how  surely  they  were  deafened 


IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL,  111 

to  psalm  and  sermon  by  longing  for  the  cool, 
comfortable  hats,  which  certain  wise  persons  had 
decided  were  too  frivolous  for  the  sanctuary. 

New  York  girls  have  worn  white  cloth  habits 
at  Lenox  without  shocking  the  moral  sense  of 
the  inhabitants,  but  Lenox,  during  the  season, 
probably  contains  a  smaller  percentage  of  sim- 
pletons than  any  village  in  the  United  States, 
and  some  daring  Boston  girls  have  appeared  this 
year  in  cool  and  elegant  habits  of  shepherd's 
check,  and  have  pleased  every  good  judge  who 
has  seen  them.  If  quite  sure  that  you  have  as 
much  common  sense  and  independence  as  these 
young  ladies,  imitate  them,  but  if  not,  wear  the 
regulation  close,  dark  cloth  habit  throughout 
the  year,  be  uncomfortable,  and  lose  half  the 
benefit  of  your  summer  rides  from  becoming 
overheated,  to  say  nothing  of  being  unable  to 
"keep  trotting"  as  long  as  you  could  if  suitably 
clothed  for  exercise.  But  might  you  not,  if  your 
habit  were  thin,  catch  cold  while  your  horse  was 
walking  ?  You  might  if  you  tried,  but  probably 
you  would  not  be  in  a  state  so  susceptible  to 
that  disaster  as  you  would  if  heavily  dressed. 

There  is  little  danger  that  the  temperature 


178  JJV  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

will  change  so  much  during  a  three  hours'  ride 
that  you  cannot  keep  yourself  sufficiently  warm 
for  comfort  and  for  safety,  and  if  you  start  for 
a  longer  excursion,  you  must  use  your  common 
sense.  The  best  and  least  expensive  way  of 
solving  the  difficulty  is  to  have  an  ordinary 
habit,  with  the  waist  and  skirt  separate,  and 
to  wear  a  lighter  coat,  with  a  habit  shirt,  or 
with  a  habit  shirt  and  waistcoat,  whenever  some- 
thing lighter  is  desirable.  This  plan  gives  three 
changes  of  dress,  which  should  be  quite  enough 
for  any  reasonable  girl. 

But  still,  you  do  not  know  what  color  you 
can  wear?  Black  is  suitable  for  all  hours  and 
all  places,  even  for  an  English  fox  hunt,  although 
the  addition  of  a  scarlet  waistcoat,  just  visible 
at  the  throat  and  below  the  waist,  is  desir- 
able for  the  field.  Dark  blue,  dark  green,  dark 
brown  are  suitable  for  most  occasions,  and  a 
riding  master  whose  experience  has  made  him 
acquainted  with  the  dress  worn  in  the  principal 
European  capitals,  declares  his  preference  for 
gray  with  a  white  waistcoat. 

Among  the  habits  shown  by  English  tailors 
at  the  French  exhibition  in   1889,  was  one  of 


IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  179 

blue  gray,  and  a  Paris  tailor  displayed  a  tan- 
colored  habit  made  with  a  coat  and  a  waistcoat 
revealing  a  white  shirt  front.  London  women 
are  now  wearing  white  waistcoats  and  white 
ties  in  the  Park,  both  tie  and  waistcoat  as  stiff 
and  masculine  as  possible. 

This  affectation  of  adopting  men's  dress,  when 
riding,  is  comparatively  modern.  Sir  Walter 
gives  the  date  in  "  Rob  Roy,"  when  Mr.  Francis 
Osbaldistone  sees  Diana  for  the  first  time  and 
notes  that  she  wears  a  coat,  vest  and  hat  resem- 
bling those  of  a  man,  "a  mode  introduced  dur- 
ing my  absence  in  France,"  he  says,  "and 
perfectly  new  to  me."  But  this  coat  had  the 
collar  and  wide  sharply  pointed  lapels  and  deep 
cuffs  now  known  as  "  directoire,"  and  its  skirts 
were  full,  and  so  long  that  they  touched  the 
right  side  of  the  saddle,  and  skirts,  lapels,  col- 
lar and  cuffs  were  trimmed  with  gold  braid 
almost  an  inch  wide.  The  waistcoat,  the  vest, 
as  Sir  Walter  calls  it,  not  knowing  the  risk  that 
he  ran  in  this  half  century  of  being  considered 
as  speaking  American,  had  a  smaller,  but  simi- 
lar, collar  and  lapels,  worn  outside  those  of  the 
coat,  and  the  "man's  tie"  was  of  soft  white  mus- 


180  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

lin,  and  a  muslin  sleeve  and  ruffles  were  visible 
at  the  wrists.  The  hat  was  very  broad  brimmed, 
and  was  worn  set  back  from  the  forehead,  and 
bent  into  coquettish  curves,  and  altogether  the 
fair  Diana  might  depend  upon  having  a  very 
long  following  of  astonished  gazers  if  she  should 
ride  down  Beacon  Street  or  appear  in  Central 
Park  to-day. 

Your  habit  shall  not  be  like  hers,  Esmeralda, 
but  shall  have  a  plain  waist,  made  as  long  as 
you  can  possibly  wear  it  while  sitting,  slightly 
pointed  in  front  and  curving  upward  at  the  side 
to  a  point  about  half  an  inch  below  that  where 
the  belt  of  your  skirt  fastens,  and  having  a  very 
small  and  perfectly  flat  postilion,  or  the  new 
English  round  back.  Elizabeth  of  Austria  may 
wear  a  princess  habit,  if  it  please  her,  but  would 
you,  Esmeralda,  be  prepared,  in  order  to  have 
your  habit  fit  properly,  to  postpone  buttoning 
it  until  after  you  were  placed  in  the  saddle,  as 
she  was  accustomed  to  do  in  the  happy  days 
when  she  could  forget  her  imperial  state  in  her 
long  wild  gallops  across  the  beautiful  Irish  hunt- 
ing counties?  The  sleeves  shall  not  be  so  tight 
that  you  can  feel  them,  nor  shall  the  armholes 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  181 

be  so  close  as  to  prevent  you  from  clasping  your 
hands  above  your  head  with  your  arms  extended 
at  full  length,  and  the  waist  shall  be  loose.  If 
you  go  to  a  tailor,  Esmeralda,  prepare  yourself 
to  make  a  firm  stand  on  this  point.  Warn  him, 
in  as  few  words  as  possible,  that  you  will  not 
take  the  habit  out  of  his  shop  unless  it  suits 
you,  and  do  not  allow  yourself  to  be  overawed  by 
the  list  of  his  patrons,  all  of  whom  "wear  their 
habits  far  tighter,  ma'am."  Unless  you  can  draw 
a  full,  deep  breath  with  your  habit  buttoned,  you 
cannot  do  yourself  or  your  teacher  any  credit  in 
trotting,  and  you  will  sometimes  find  yourself 
compelled  to  give  your  escort  the  appearance  of 
being  discourteous  by  drawing  rein  suddenly, 
leaving  him,  unwarned,  to  trot  on,  apparently 
disregarding  your  plight.  Both  your  horse  and 
his  will  resent  your  action,  and  unless  he  resem- 
ble both  Moses  and  Job  more  strongly  than  most 
Americans,  he  will  have  a  few  words  to  say  in 
regard  to  it,  after  you  have  repeated  it  once  or 
twice.  And,  lastly,  Esmeralda,  no  riding  master 
with  any  sense  of  duty  will  allow  you  to  wear 
such  a  habit  in  his  presence  without  telling  you 
his   opinion    of   it,  and  stating  his  reasons  for 


182  IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL. 

objecting  to  it,  and  you  best  know  whether  or 
not  a  little  lecture  of  that  sort  will  be  agreeable, 
especially  if  delivered  in  the  presence  of  other 
women.  Warn  your  tailor  of  your  determination, 
then,  and  if  his  devotion  to  his  ideal  should  com- 
pel him  in  consequence  to  decline  your  patron- 
age, go  to  another,  until  you  find  one  who  will 
be  content  not  to  transform  you  into  the  like- 
ness of  a  wooden  doll.  Women  are  not  made 
to  advertise  tailors,  whatever  the  tailors  may 
think. 

What  must  you  pay  for  your  habit  ?  You 
may  pay  three  hundred  dollars,  if  you  like, 
although  that  price  is  seldom  charged,  unless  to 
customers  who  seem  desirous  of  paying  it,  but 
the  usual  scale  runs  downward  from  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars.  This  includes  cloth  and 
all  other  materials,  and  finish  as  perfect  within 
as  without,  and  is  not  dear,  considering  the  retail 
price  of  cloth,  the  careful  making,  and  the  touch 
of  style  which  only  practised  hands  can  give. 
The  heavy  meltons  worn  for  hunting  habits 
in  England  cost  seven  dollars  a  yard  ;  English 
tweeds  which  have  come  into  vogue  during 
the  last  few  years  in   London,  cost  six  dollars ; 


IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL.  183 

broadcloth  five  dollars  ;  rough,  uncut  cheviots, 
about  six  dollars ;  and  shepherds'  checks,  single 
width,  about  two  dollars  and  a  half.  For  waist- 
coats, duck  costs  two  dollars  and  a  quarter  a 
yard,  and  fancy  flannels  and  Tattersall  checks 
anywhere  from  one  dollar  and  a  half  to  two  dol- 
lars. The  heavy  cloths  are  the  most  economical 
in  the  end,  because  they  do  not  wear  out  where 
the  skirt  is  stretched  over  the  pommel,  the  point 
at  which  a  light  material  is  very  soon  in  tatters. 
The  small,  flat  buttons  cost  twenty-five  cents 
a  dozen  ;  the  fine  black  sateen  used  for  linings 
may  be  bought  for  thirty-five  cents  a  yard,  and 
canvas  for  interlinings  for  twenty-five  cents. 
With  these  figures  you  may  easily  make  your 
own  computations  as  to  the  cost  of  material,  for 
unless  a  woman  is  "more  than  common  tall," 
two  yards  and  a  half  will  be  more  than  enough 
for  her  habit  skirt,  which  should  not  rest  an  inch 
on  the  ground  on  the  left  side  when  she  stands, 
and  should  be  not  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  yard 
longer  in  its  longest  part.  Two  lengths,  with 
allowance  for  the  hem  two  inches  deep  are  needed 
for  the  skirt,  and  when  very  heavy  melton  is  used, 
the  edges  are  left  raw,  the  perfect  riding  skirt  in 


184  IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL. 

modern  eyes  being  that  which  shows  no  trace  of 
the  needle,  an  end  secured  with  lighter  cloths 
by  pressing  all  the  seams  before  hemming,  and 
then  very  lightly  blind-stitching  the  pointed 
edges  in  their  proper  place. 

Strength  is  not  desirable  in  the  sewing  of  a 
habit  skirt.  It  is  always  possible  that  one  may 
be  thrown,  and  the  substantial  stitching  which 
will  hold  one  to  pommel  and  stirrup  may  be 
fatal  to  life.  So  hems  are  constructed  to  tear 
away  easily,  and  seams  are  run  rather  than 
stitched,  or  stitched  with  fine  silk,  and  the  cloth 
is  not  too  firmly  secured  to  the  wide  sateen 
belt.  The  English  safety  skirts,  invented  three 
or  four  years  ago,  have  the  seam  on  the  knee- 
gore  open  from  the  knee  down  to  the  edge,  and 
the  two  breadths  are  caught  together  with  but- 
tons and  elastic  loops,  all  sewed  on  very  lightly 
so  as  to  give  way  easily.  The  effect  of  this 
style  of  cutting  is,  if  one  be  thrown,  to  trans- 
form one  into  a  flattered  or  libellous  likeness 
of  Lilian  Russell  in  her  naval  uniform,  pre- 
pared to  scamper  away  from  one's  horse,  and 
from  any  other  creatures  with  eyes,  but  with 
one's  bones  unbroken  and  one's  face  unscratched 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  185 

by  being  dragged  and  pounded  over  the  road, 
or  by  being  kicked. 

For  the  waist  and  sleeves,  Esmeralda,  you 
will  allow  as  much  as  for  those  of  your  ordinary 
frocks,  and  if  you  cannot  find  a  fashionable 
tailor  who  will  consent  to  adapt  himself  to  your 
tastes  and  to  your  purse,  you  may  be  fortunate 
enough  to  find  men  who  have  worked  in  shops, 
but  who  now  make  habits  at  home,  charging 
twenty-five  dollars  for  the  work,  and  doing  it 
well  and  faithfully,  although,  of  course,  not 
being  able  to  keep  themselves  informed  as  to 
the  latest  freaks  of  English  fashion  by  foreign 
travellers  and  correspondents,  as  their  late  em- 
ployers do.  There  are  two  or  three  dressmak- 
ers in  Boston  and  five  or  six  in  New  York 
whose  habits  fit  well,  and  are  elegant  in  every 
particular,  and,  if  you  can  find  an  old-fashioned 
tailoress  who  really  knows  her  business,  and 
can  prepare  yourself  to  tell  her  about  a  few 
special  details,  you  may  obtain  a  well-fitting 
waist  and  skirt  at  a  very  reasonable  price. 

Of  these  details  the  first  is  that  the  sateen 
lining  should  be  black.  Gay  colors  are  very 
pretty,  but  are  soon  spoiled  by  perspiration,  and 


186  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

white,  the  most  fitting  lining  for  a  lady's  ordi- 
nary frock,  is  unsuitable  for  a  habit,  since  one 
long,  warm  ride  may  convert  it  into  something 
very  untidy  of  aspect.     This  lining,  of  which 
all  the  seams  should  be  turned  toward  the  out- 
side, should  end  at  the  belt  line,  and  between  it 
and  the  cloth  outside  should  be  a  layer  of  can- 
vas, cut  and   shaped    as    carefully  as  possible, 
and  the  whalebones,  each  in  its  covering,  should 
be  sewed  between  the  canvas  and  the  sateen. 
If  a  waistcoat  be  worn,  it  should  have  a  double 
sateen  back  with  canvas  interlining,  and  may  be 
high  in  the  throat  or  made  with  a  step  collar 
like  that  of  the  waist.     The  cuffs  are  simply  in- 
dicated by  stitching  and  are  buttoned  on  the 
outside  of  the  sleeve  with  two  or  three  buttons. 
Simulated  waistcoats,  basted  firmly  to  the  shoul- 
der seams  and  under-arm  seams  of  the  waist, 
and  cut  high  to  the  throat  with  an  officer  collar, 
are  liked  by  ladies  with  a  taste  for  variety,  and 
are  not  expensive,  as  but  a  small  quantity  of 
material  is  required   for  each   one.     They  are 
fastened  by  small  hooks  except  in  those  parts 
shown   by  the  openings,  and  on  these   flat  or 
globular  pearl  buttons  are  used. 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  187 

When  a  step  collar  and  a  man's  tie  are  worn, 
the  ordinary  high  collar  and  chemisette,  sold 
for  thirty-eight  cents,  takes  the  place  of  the 
straight  linen  band  worn  with  the  habit  high  in 
the  throat,  and  the  proper  tie  is  the  white  silk 
scarf  fastened  in  a  four-in-hand  knot,  and,  if 
you  be  wise,  Esmeralda,  you  will  buy  this  at  a 
good  shop,  and  pay  two  dollars  and  a  quarter  for 
it,  rather  than  to  pay  less  and  repent  ever  after. 
Some  girls  wear  white  lawn  evening  ties,  but 
they  are  really  out  of  place  in  the  saddle,  in 
which  one  is  supposed  to  be  in  morning  dress. 
Wear  the  loosest  of  collars  and  cuffs,  and  fasten 
the  latter  to  your  habit  sleeves  with  safety  pins. 
The  belts  of  your  habit  skirt  and  waist  should  also 
be  pinned  together  at  the  back,  at  the  sides  and 
in  front,  unless  your  tailor  has  fitted  them  with 
hooks  and  eyes,  and  if  you  be  a  provident  young 
person,  you  will  tuck  away  a  few  more  safety 
pins,  a  hairpin  or  two,  half  a  row  of  "  the  com- 
mon pin  of  North  America,"  and  a  quarter-ounce 
flask  of  cologne,  in  one  of  the  little  leather 
change  pouches,  and  put  it  either  in  your  habit 
pocket  or  your  saddle  pocket.  Sometimes,  after 
a  dusty  ride  of  an  hour  or  two,  a  five-minute 


188  IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL. 

■  —  ■  -    —  — — -^^— 

halt  under  the  trees  by  the  roadside,  gives  op- 
portunity to  remove  the  dust  from  the  face  and 
to  cool  the  hands,  and  the  cologne  is  much 
better  than  the  handkerchief  "  dipped  in  the 
pellucid  waters  of  a  rippling  brook,"  a  la  novel- 
ist, for  the  pellucid  brook  of  Massachusetts  is 
very  likely  to  run  past  a  leather  factory,  in 
which  case  its  waters  are  anything  but  agree- 
able. Whether  or  not  your  habit  shall  have  a 
pocket  is  a  matter  of  choice.  If  it  have  one,  it 
should  be  small  and  should  be  on  the  left  side, 
just  beyond  the  three  flat  buttons  which  fasten 
the  front  breadth  and  side  breadth  of  your  habit 
together  at  the  waist.  When  thus  placed,  you 
can  easily  reach  it  with  either  hand. 

Fitting  the  habit  over  the  knee  is  a  feat  not 
to  be  effected  by  an  amateur  without  a  pattern, 
and  the  proper  slope  and  adjustment  of  the 
breadths  come  by  art,  not  chance  ;  but  Har- 
per's Bazar  patterns  are  easily  obtained  by  mail. 
The  best  tailors  adjust  the  skirt  while  the  wearer 
sits  on  a  side  saddle,  and  there  is  no  really  good 
substitute  for  this,  for,  although  one  may  guess 
fairly  well  at  the  fit  of  the  knee,  nothing  but 
actual  trial  will  show  whether  or  not,  when  in 


W  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  189 

the  saddle,  the  left  side  of  the  skirt  hangs  per- 
fectly straight,  concealing  the  right  side,  and 
leaving  the  horse's  body  visible  below  it.  When 
your  skirt  is  finished,  no  matter  if  it  be  made 
by  the  very  best  of  tailors,  wear  it  once  in  the 
school  before  you  appear  on  the  road  in  it,  and, 
looking  in  the  mirror,  view  it  "  with  a  cricket's 
eye,"  as  the  little  boy  said  when  he  appeared  on 
the  school  platform  as  an  example  of  the  advan- 
tages of  the  wonderful  merits  of  oral  instruc- 
tion. 

An  elastic  strap  about  a  quarter  of  a  yard 
long  should  be  sewed  half  way  between  the 
curved  knee  seam  and  the  hem,  and  should  be 
slipped  over  the  right  toe  before  mounting,  and 
a  second  strap,  for  the  left  heel,  should  be  sewed 
on  the  last  seam  on  the  under  side  of  the  habit, 
to  be  adjusted  after  the  foot  is  placed  in  the 
stirrup.  The  result  of  this  cutting  and  arrange- 
ment is  the  straight,  simple,  modern  habit 
which  is  so  great  a  change  from  the  riding  dress 
of  half  a  century  ago,  with  its  full  skirt  which 
nearly  swept  the  ground.  The  short  skirt  first 
appears  in  the  English  novel  in  "  Guy  Living- 
stone," and  is  worn  by  the  severe  and  upright 


190  IN  THE    BIDING- SCHOOL. 

Lady  Alice,  the  dame  who  hesitated  not  to 
snub  Florence  Bellasis,  when  snubbing  was 
needful,  and  who  was  a  mighty  huntress.  Now 
everybody  wears  it,  and  the  full  skirts  are  seen 
nowhere  except  in  the  riding-school  dressing- 
rooms,  where  they  yet  linger  because  they  may 
be  worn  by  anybody,  whereas  the  plain  skirt  fits 
but  one  person.  It  seems  odd  that  so  many 
years  were  required  to  discover  that  a  short 
skirt,  held  in  place  by  a  strap  placed  over  the 
right  toe  and  another  slipped  over  the  left  heel, 
really  protected  the  feet  more  than  yards  of 
loosely  floating  cloth,  but  did  not  steam  and 
electricity  wait  for  centuries  ?  Since  the  new 
style  was  generally  adopted,  Englishwomen  allow 
themselves  the  luxury  of  five  or  six  habits,  in- 
stead of  the  one  or  two  formerly  considered 
sufficient,  but  each  one  is  worn  for  several  years. 
When  the  extravagant  wife,  in  Mrs.  Alexander's 
"  A  Crooked  Path,"  suggests  that  she  may  soon 
want  a  new  habit,  her  husband  asks  indignantly, 
"  Did  I  not  give  you  one  two  years  ago  ?  " 

The  trousers  may  match  the  habit  or  may  be 
of  stockinet,  or  the  imported  cashmere  tights 
may  be  worn.     Women   who  are  not  fat  and 


IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL.  191 

whose  muscles  are  hard,  may  choose  whichso- 
ever one  of  these  pleases  them,  but  fat  women, 
and  women  whose  flesh  is  not  too  solid,  must 
wear  thick  trousers,  and  would  better  have 
them  lined  with  buckskin,  unless  they  would  be 
transformed  into  what  Sairey  would  call  "a 
mask  of  bruiges,"  and  would  frequent  remark  to 
Mrs.  Harris  that  such  was  what  she  expected. 
Trousers  with  gaiter  fastenings  below  the  knee 
are  preferred  by  some  women  who  put  not  their 
faith  in  straps  alone,  and  knee-breeches  are 
liked  by  some,  but  to  wear  knee-breeches  means 
to  pay  fifteen  dollars  for  long  riding-boots,  in- 
stead of  the  modest  seven  or  eight  dollars 
which  suffice  to  buy  ordinary  Balmoral  boots. 
Gaiters  must  button  on  the  left  side  of  each 
leg,  and  trouser  straps  may  be  sewed  on  one 
side  and  buttoned  on  the  other,  instead  of  being 
buttoned  on  both  sides  as  men's  are.  Tailors 
sometimes  insist  on  two  buttons,  but  as  a  woman 
does  not  wear  her  trousers  except  with  the  strap, 
it  is  difficult  to  see  why  she  needs  to  be  able  to 
remove  it.  The  best  material  for  the  strap  is 
thick  soft  kid,  or  thin  leather  lined  with  cloth. 
The  thick,  rubber  strap  used  by  some  tailors  is 


192  IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL. 

dangerous,  sometimes  preventing  the  rider  from 
placing  her  foot  in  the  stirrup,  sometimes  mak- 
ing her  lose  it  at  a  critical  moment.  Whether 
breeches,  tights  or  trousers  are  worn,  they  must 
be  loose  at  the  knee,  or  trotting  will  be  impossi- 
ble, and  the  rider  will  feel  as  if  bound  to  the 
second  pommel,  and  will  sometimes  be  unable 
to  rise  at  all. 

As  to  gloves,  the  choice  lies  between  the 
warm  antelope  skin  mousquetairesat  two  dollars 
a  pair,  and  the  tan-colored  kid  gauntlets  at  the 
same  price.  The  former  are  most  comfortable 
for  winter,  the  latter  for  summer,  and  neither 
can  be  too  large.  Nobody  was  ever  ordered  out 
for  execution  for  wearing  black  gloves,  although 
they  are  unusual,  and  now  and  then  one  sees  a 
woman,  whose  soul  is  set  on  novelty,  gorgeous 
in  yellow  cavalry  gauntlets,  or  even  with  white 
dragoon  gauntlets,  making  her  look  like  a  badly 
focused  photograph. 

Lastly,  as  to  the  hat.  What  shall  it  be, 
Esmeralda  ? 

No  tuft  of  grass-green  plumes  for  you,  like 
Queen  Guinevere's,  nor  yet  the  free  flowing 
feather   to   be   seen   in   so   many  beautiful    old 


IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  193 

French  pictures,  nor  the  plumed  hat  which  "my 
sweet  Mistress  Ann  Dacre "  wore  when  Con- 
stance Sherwood's  loving  eyes  first  fell  upon 
her,  but  the  simple  jockey  cap,  exactly  match- 
ing your  habit,  and  costing  two  dollars  and  a 
half  or  three  dollars ;  the  Derby  cap  for  the 
same  price  or  a  little  more ;  or,  best  of  all,  the 
English  or  the  American  silk  hat,  as  universally 
suitable  as  a  black  silk  frock  was  in  the  good 
old  times  when  Mrs.  Rutherford  Birchard  Hayes 
was  in  the  White  House.  The  English  Henry 
Heath  hat  at  seven  or  eight  dollars,  with  its 
velvet  forehead  piece  and  its  band  of  soft,  rough 
silk,  stays  in  place  better  than  any  other,  but  it 
is  too  heavy  for  comfort.  If  you  can  have  an 
American  hatter  remodel  it,  making  it  weigh 
half  a  pound  less,  it  will  be  perfection,  always 
provided  that  he  does  not,  as  he  assuredly  will 
unless  you  forbid  it,  throw  away  the  soft,  rough 
band,  which  keeps  the  hat  in  place,  and  substi- 
tute one  of  the  American  smooth  bands,  designed 
to  slip  off  without  ruffling  the  hair,  and  doing 
it  instantly,  the  moment  that  a  breeze  touches 
the  brim  of  the  hat.  A  hunting  guard,  fastened 
at  the  back  of  the  hat  brim  and  between  two 


194  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

habit  buttons  is  better  than  an  elastic  caught 
under  the  braids  of  your  hair,  for  when  an  elastic 
does  not  snap  outright,  it  is  always  trying  to  do 
so,  and  in  the  effort  holds  the  hat  so  tightly  on 
the  head  as  sometimes  to  give  actual  pain.  The 
hunting  guard  is  no  restraint  at  all  unless  the 
hat  flies  off,  in  which  case  it  keeps  it  from  fol- 
lowing the  example  of  John  Gilpin's,  but  with 
the  Henry  Heath  lining,  your  hat  is  perfectly 
secure  in  anything  from  a  Texas  Norther  to  a 
New  England  east  wind.  If  you  follow  London 
example,  and  wear  a  straw  hat  for  morning  rides, 
sew  a  piece  of  white  velvet  on  the  inner  side  of 
the  band,  and  your  forehead  will  not  be  marked. 
Arrayed  after  these  suggestions,  Esmeralda, 
you  will  be  inconspicuous,  and  that  is  the  gen- 
eral aim  of  the  true  lady's  riding  dress,  with  the 
exception  of  those  worn  by  German  princesses, 
when,  at  a  review,  they  lead  the  regiments 
which  they  command.  Then,  their  habits  may 
be  frogged  and  braided  with  gold,  or  they  may 
fire  the  air  in  habit  and  hat  of  white  and  scarlet, 
the  regimental  colors,  as  the  Empress  of  Ger- 
many did  the  other  day.  If  you  were  sure  of 
riding  as   these  royal  ladies   do,  perhaps  even 


IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL.  195 

white  and  scarlet  might  be  permitted  to  you, 
but  can  you  fancy  yourself,  Esmeralda,  sweep- 
ing across  a  parade  ground  with  a  thousand 
horsemen  behind  you,  and  ready  to  salute  your 
sovereign  and  commander-in-chief  at  the  right 
moment,  and  to  go  forward  with  as  much  pre- 
cision as  if  you,  too,  were  one  of  those  magnifi- 
cently drilled  machines  brought  into  being  by 
the  man  of  blood  and  iron  ? 


196  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 


XIII. 

'Tis  an  old  maxim  in  the  schools, 
That  flattery's  the  food  of  fools. 

Swift. 

IF  American  children  and  American 
girls  were  the  angels  which  their 
mothers  and  their  lovers  tell  them 
that  they  are,  the  best  possible  rid- 
ing master  for  them  would  be  an  American  sol- 
dier who  had  learned  and  had  taught  riding  at 
West  Point.  Being  of  the  same  race,  pupil  and 
teacher  would  have  that  vast  fund  of  common 
memories,  hopes  and  feelings ;  that  common 
knowledge  of  character,  of  good  qualities  and 
of  defects,  and  that  ability  to  divine  motives 
and  to  predict  action  which  constitute  perfect 
sympathy,  and  their  relations  to  one  another 
would  be  mutually  agreeable  and  profitable. 
Unfortunately,  Esmeralda,  you,  like  possibly 
some  other  American  girls,  are  not  an  angel, 
and  if  you   were,  you  could  not  have  such  a 


77V  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  197 

riding  master,  because  the  very  few  men  who 
have  the  specified  qualifications  are  too  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  characteristics  of  their  coun- 
trywomen to  think  of  undertaking  to  instruct 
them  in  the  equestrian  art.  Who,  then,  shall 
be  his  substitute  ?  Clearly,  either  a  person  suf- 
ficiently patient  and  clever  to  neutralize  the 
faults  of  American  women,  or  one  capable  of 
adapting  himself  to  them,  of  eluding  them,  and 
of  forcing  a  certain  quantity  of  knowledge  upon 
his  pupils,  almost  in  spite  of  themselves.  The 
former  is  hardly  to  be  found  among  natives 
of  the  United  States;  the  latter  can  be  found 
nowhere  else,  except,  possibly,  in  certain  Eng- 
lish shires  in  which  the  inhabitants  so  closely 
resemble  the  average  American  that  when  they 
immigrate  hither  they  are  scarcely  distinguish- 
able from  men  whose  ancestors  came  two  or 
three  centuries  ago. 

A  foreign  teacher,  whether  French,  German 
or  Hungarian,  always  regards  himself  in  the  just 
and  proper  European  manner  as  the  superior  of 
his  pupil.  The  traditions  in  which  he  has  been 
reared,  under  which  he  has  been  instructed,  not 
only  in  riding,  but  in  all  other  matters,  survive 


198  m  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

from  the  time  when  all  learning  was  received 
from  men  whose  title  to  respect  rested  not  only 
on  their  wisdom  but  on  their  ecclesiastical  office, 
and  who  expected  and  received  as  much  defer- 
ence from  their  pupils  as  from  their  congrega- 
tions. Undeniably,  there  are  unruly  children  in 
European  schools,  but  their  rebelliousness  is 
never  encouraged,  and  their  teachers  are  ex- 
pected to  quell  it,  not  to  submit  to  it,  much  less 
to  endeavor  to  avoid  it  by  giving  no  commands 
which  are  distasteful.  Even  in  the  worst  con- 
ducted private  schools  on  the  continent,  there 
is  always  at  least  one  master  who  must  be 
obeyed,  whose  authority  is  held  as  beyond  ap- 
peal, and  in  the  school  conducted  either  by  the 
church  or  by  civil  authority,  the  duty  of  enforc- 
ing perfect  discipline  is  regarded  as  quite  as 
imperative  as  that  of  demanding  well-learned 
lessons. 

Passing  through  these  institutions,  the  young 
European  enters  the  military  school  with  as  lit- 
tle thought  of  disputing  any  order  which  may 
be  given  him  as  of  arguing  with  the  priest  who 
states  a  theological  truth  from  the  pulpit.  And, 
indeed,  had  he  been  reared  under  the  tutelage 


IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  199 

of  one  of  those  modern  silver-tongued  American 
pedagogues,  who  make  gentle  requests  lest  they 
should  elicit  antagonism  by  commands,  the  mili- 
tary school  would  soon  completely  alter  the  com- 
plexion of  his  ideas,  for  he  would  find  his  failures 
in  the  execution  of  orders  treated  as  disobedi- 
ence. He  would  not  be  punished  at  first,  it  is 
true,  but  pretty  theories  that  he  was  nervous, 
or  ill,  or  the  victim  of  hereditary  disability,  or 
of  fibre  too  delicately  attenuated  to  perform  any 
required  act,  would  not  be  admitted  except,  in- 
deed, as  a  reason  for  expulsion.  Moreover,  the 
tests  to  which  he  would  be  compelled  to  submit 
before  this  escape  from  discipline  lay  open  to 
him,  would  be  neither  slight  nor  easily  borne,  for 
the  European  military  teacher  has  yet  to  learn 
the  existence  of  that  exquisite  personal  dignity 
which  is  hopelessly  blighted  by  corporal  pun- 
ishment for  infractions  of  discipline. 

"Will  you  teach  me  to  ride,  sir?"  asked  a 
Boston  man  of  an  Hungarian  soldier,  one  of  the 
pioneers  among  Boston  instructors. 

"Will  I  teach  you  !  Eh  !  I  don't  know,"  said 
the  exile  dolefully,  for  during  his  few  weeks  in 
the  city,  he  had  seen  something  of  -the  ways  of 


200  IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL. 

the  American  who  fancies  himself  desirous  of 
being  taught.  "  Perhaps  you  will  learn,  but  will 
—  I  —  teach  — you  ?     You  can  ride  ?  " 

"A  little." 

"Very  well!  Mount  that  horse,  and  ride 
around  the  ring." 

Away  went  the  pupil,  doing  his  best,  but  be- 
fore he  had  traversed  two  sides  of  the  school, 
the  master  shouted  to  the  horse,  and  the  pupil 
was  sitting  in  the  tan.  He  picked  himself  up, 
and  returned  to  the  mounting-stand,  saying  : 
"  Will  you  tell  me  how  to  stay  on  next  time  ?  " 

"  I  will,"  cried  the  Hungarian  in  a  small 
ecstasy ;  "  and  I  will  make  a  rider  of  you  !  " 
And  he  did,  too,  and  certainly  took  as  much 
pleasure  as  his  pupil  in  the  long  course  of 
instruction  which  followed,  and  in  the  resultant 
proficiency. 

In  European  riding-schools  for  ladies,  there 
is,  of  course,  no  resort  to  corporal  punishment, 
but  there  is  none  of  that  careful  abstention  from 
telling  disagreeable  truths  which  popular  igno- 
rance exacts  from  American  teachers  in  all 
schools,  except  in  the  military  and  naval  acade- 
mies.    Indeed,  the  need  of  it  is  hardly  felt,  for 


W  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL.  201 

that  peculiar  self-consciousness  which  makes  an 
American  awkward  under  observation  and  res- 
tive under  reproof  is  scarcely  found  in  countries 
not  democratic,  and  the  "  I'm  ez  good  ez  you 
he  "  feeling  which  is  at  the  bottom  of  American 
intractability,  has  no  chance  to  flourish  in  lands 
where  position  is  a  matter  of  birth  and  not  of 
self-assertion. 

A  French  woman,  compelled  to  make  part  of 
her  toilet  in  a  railway  waiting-room  under  the 
eyes  of  half  a  score  of  enemies,  that  is  to  say,  of 
ten  other  women,  arranges  her  tresses,  purchased 
or  natural,  uses  powder-puff  and  hare's  foot  if 
she  choose,  and  turns  away  from  the  mirror 
armed  for  conquest  ;  but  an  American  similarly 
situated,  forgets  half  her  hair-pins,  does  not 
dare  to  wash  her  face  carefully  lest  some  one 
should  sniff  condemnation  of  her  fussiness,  and 
looks  worse  after  her  efforts  at  beautifying.  A 
French  girl,  told  that  her  English  accent  is  bad, 
corrects  it  carefully;  an  American,  gently  re- 
minded that  a  French  "  u  "  is  not  pronounced 
like  "  you,"  changes  it  to  "  oo,"  and  stares  de- 
fiance at  Bocher  and  all  his  works.  And  even 
that  commendable  reserve  which  hinders  well- 


202  IN  THE  RIDING-SCHOOL. 

bred  Americans  from  frank  self-discussion, 
stands  in  the  way  of  perfect  sympathy  between 
him  and  the  European  master,  representative 
of  races  in  which  everybody,  from  an  emperor 
in  his  proclamations  to  the  peasant  chatting 
over  his  beer  or  petit  viny  may  discourse  upon 
his  own  most  recondite  peculiarities. 

For  all  these  reasons,  the  European  riding 
master  is  often  misunderstood,  even  by  his 
older  pupils,  and  young  girls  almost  invariably 
mistake  his  patient  reiteration  and  his  method- 
ical vivacity  for  anger,  so  that  his  classes 
seldom  contain  any  pupils  not  really  anxious  to 
learn,  or  whose  parents  are  not  determined  that 
they  shall  learn  in  his  school  and  in  no  other. 
Teaching  is  a  matter  of  strict  conscience  with 
him,  and  even  after  years  of  experience,  and  in 
spite  of  more  than  one  severe  lesson  as  to 
American  sensitiveness,  he  continues  to  speak 
the  truth.  Even  when  his  pupils  have  become 
what  the  ordinary  observer  calls  perfect  riders, 
he  allows  no  fault  to  go  unreproved,  although 
nobody  can  more  thoroughly  enjoy  the  evening 
classes,  organized  by  fairly  good  riders  rather 
for   amusement    than    for   instruction.      If  you 


IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL.  203 

think   you    can    endure   perfect    discipline  and 
incessant  plain  speaking  go  to  him,  Esmeralda. 

If  you  cannot,  take  the  other  alternative,  the 
American  or  the  English  master,  but  remember 
that  it  is  only  by  absolute  submission  that  you 
will  obtain  the  best  instruction  which  he  is  ca- 
pable of  giving.  If  you  do  not  compel  him  to 
tax  his  mind  with  remembering  all  your  foibles 
and  weaknesses,  you  may,  thanks  to  race  sym- 
pathy, learn  more  rapidly  at  first  from  him  than 
from  a  foreigner,  and,  unless  you  are  rude  and 
insubordinate  to  the  point  of  insolence,  you 
may  depend  upon  receiving  no  actual  harshness 
from  him,  although  he  will  refuse  to  flatter  you, 
and  will  repeat  his  warnings  against  faults, 
quite  as  persistently  as  any  foreigner. 

A  very  little  observation  of  your  fellow  pupils 
will  show  you  that  presumption  upon  his  good 
nature  is  wofully  common,  and  that  his  Ameri- 
can inability  to  forget  that  a  woman  is  a  woman, 
even  when  she  conducts  herself  as  if  her  name 
were  Ursa  or  Jenny,  often  subjects  him  to  stu- 
pendous impertinence,  which  he  receives  with 
calm  and  silent  contempt.  You  will  find  that 
his  instruction  follows  the  same  lines  as  that  of 


204  IN  THE  HIDING-SCHOOL. 

all    foreign  masters  in  the  United    States,  for 
there  is  no  American  system  of  horsemanship, 
the  traditions  of  the  army,  and  of   the  north, 
being  derived  from  France,  those  of  the  south 
from  England,  and  those  of  the  southwest  from 
Spain,    by    the    way    of    Mexico    and    Texas. 
Under  his  instruction,  you  will  remain  longer  in 
the  debatable  land  between  perfect  ignorance 
of    horsemanship,    and    being   a  really   accom- 
plished rider,  than  you  would  if   taught   by  a 
foreigner,  but,  as  has  already    been   said,    you 
will  learn  more  rapidly  at  first,  and  the  result, 
if  you  choose  to  work  hard,  will  be  much  the 
same. 

Should  you,  by  way  of  experiment,  choose  to 
take  lessons  from  both  native  and  foreign  mas- 
ters, you  will  find  each  frankly  ready  to  admit 
the  merits  of  the  other,  and  to  acknowledge 
that  he  himself  is  better  suited  to  some  pupils 
than  to  others  and,  to  come  back  to  what  was 
told  you  at  the  outset,  you  will  find  them  unan- 
imous in  assuring  you  that  your  best  teacher, 
the  instructor  without  whose  aid  you  can  learn 
nothing,  is  yourself,  your  slightly  rebellious,  but 
withal  clever,  American  self.     You  can  learn, 


IN  THE  BIDING-SCHOOL.  205 

Esmeralda.  There  is  no  field  of  knowledge 
into  which  the  American  woman  has  attempted 
to  enter,  in  which  she  has  not  demonstrated 
her  ability  to  compete,  when  she  chooses  to  put 
forth  all  her  energy,  with  her  sisters  of  other 
nations,  but  she  must  work,  and  must  work 
steadily.  There  are  American  teachers  of 
grammar  who  cannot  parse  ;  American  female 
journalists  who  cannot  write  ;  American  women 
calling  themselves  doctors,  but  unable  to  make 
a  diagnosis  between  the  cholera  and  the 
measles  ;  and  American  women  practising  law 
and  dependent  for  a  living  on  blatant  self-adver- 
tising, but  with  the  faculties  of  Vassar  and 
Wellesley  in  existence  ;  with  the  editor  of  Har- 
per's Bazar  receiving  the  same  salary  as  Mr. 
Curtis  ;  with  American  women  acknowledged 
as  a  credit  to  the  medical  and  to  the  legal  pro- 
fession —  what  of  it  ?  The  American  woman 
can  learn  anything,  can  do  anything.  Do  you 
learn  to  ride,  and,  having  done  it,  "  keep 
riding."  At  present  you  have  received  just 
sufficient  instruction  to  qualify  you  to  ride 
properly   escorted,     on      good     roads,     but  — 

"Keep  Riding  !  " 


Webster  P"^' f  ;h^rv  of  Veterinary  Medicine 

Cumn  erinary  Medicine  at 

Tut 

200  V  id 

North Grattor , ,   \ CI 536 


